Home and the Heartland
by HaleyAva
Summary: When Kate's mother, Diane, passes away, Kate moves to LA to live with her Dad. But when Kate meets a special boy, has she learned the new meaning of home? Teenage JateAU.
1. Chapter 1: A New Beginning

Title: Home and the Heartland

Rating: T (just incase)

Pairings: Jack/Kate, Charlie/Claire, Sayid/Shannon

Summary: When Kate's mother, Diane, passes away, Kate moves to LA to live with her Dad. But when Kate meets a special boy, has she learned the new meaning of home? (teenage AU Jate. There was no plane crash.)

Author's note/Disclaimer: hey everyone! i have this story posted on Lost-Forum, but i thought i would post it here too. let me know if i should continue it here as well. : This is also my first fic. It's mostly Jate, but it also has some Charlie/Claire and Sayid/Shannon. I hope you all enjoy:

Also, i do not own Lost, or any of it's characters. It was created by JJ Abrams, Damon Lindelof, and is owned by ABC and touchstone.

Enjoy :

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One

What would you do? What if all of the sudden, the world just stopped? All you saw, was black. All you felt, was cold. And all that you heard, was nothing. A deafening silence. And all of the sudden, you felt as if you were falling. **Fast**. And the world started spinning. And you couldn't control it. _What would you do?_

Meet Kate. 15 years old. Sophomore in high school. Curly brown hair and sharp green eyes. Fair skinned. Freckles.

Kate's life has just been turned upside down.

And she can't control it.

7 years have passed since Diane was diagnosed with Cancer. 7 long years. And those 7 long years of pain, suffering, and tears, all came down to 5 minutes. And they were the longest 5 minutes of Kate's life.

7 years. 5 minutes. 1 phone call.

And that is when she began to fall. And she fell **fast**.

She didn't hang up the phone. She couldn't move. She couldn't even hear the doctor on the other end of the line, still speaking into the phone, asking if she was all right. But Kate wasn't all right. Her world was crashing down on her. And she was buried. She was buried **deep**.

So what would _you_ do? Would you ignore the pain? Would you act as if nothing happened, and carry on with life? Would you let the pain sink in and ruin your life forever? Or, would you let the fear in? Not for too long. Just long enough to look it in the eye, and give it its chance to swallow you up, tear you apart, but not letting it.

Kate hung up the phone. She calmly placed it on the receiver and slowly walked to the front door, opening it and walking out onto the porch. She slowly walked down the steps...1...2...3...4...and felt the cold rain, fall upon her body. She stopped walking. Now she was running. Her feet moving faster than her mind. The cold rain was seeping into her T-shirt and jeans, and made her usually curly hair, flat and damp.

But she didn't slow down. She only got faster. But suddenly, she stopped.

Kate stood on the sidewalk, under the streetlight, which illuminated her wet, freckled face. Her chest rose and fell quickly, breathing in and out through her mouth. And she just stood there. In the pouring rain, in nothing but a T-shirt and pants. And she spoke, softly, with a small tremble evident in her tiny voice. And that was when she said it.

"Somebody save me."

----------------------------------------------

"Hello?"

"Daddy?"

"Katie? Are you ok? Did you leave yet?"

"It's ok Daddy. I called to let you know we're boarding in 15 minutes." A small giggle escaped her lips. 'He worries too much' Kate thought.

"I'll be there sweetie, don't worry." Sam spoke confidently into the phone.

"Daddy?"

"Yes sweetheart?"

"I love you."

"I love you too sweetie. I'll see you in a couple of hours."

It had been three weeks since Diane passed away, and Kate's life was slowly starting to return to normal. Custody arrangements sent her to live with her father, Sam, in Los Angeles, which couldn't have made Kate happier. Her and her Dad got along perfectly, and they had so much in common as well. But moving to LA with her Dad meant that she had to leave Iowa, and that was the difficult part. Not only did she have to say goodbye to her mother, but also to all of her friends and neighbors from the small little town she lived in. Her remaining family in Iowa promised to watch over Diane's grave while Kate moved away to LA, but Kate new that one day, she would return to Iowa, even if it was just to visit her mom.

'I guess this isn't so bad after all' Kate thought quickly, but then soon regretted it.

'How could you say that, mom just passed away 3 weeks ago…things will never be okay anymore.'

'But mom wants me to be happy, and being with Sam couldn't make me happier.'

As Kate held a battle with her inner conscious, the flight attendant came over the loud speaker:

"Group A is now boarding. That is flight 1516 to Los Angeles, now boarding group A."

'Guess that's me.' Kate said to herself. She looked out the window one last time at the beautiful Iowa that she was now leaving, and took a long, deep breath. She was going to miss the large farms, the cattle, the beautiful rolling hills, but most of all, the people that she loved dearly. She was going from the heartland to a concrete paradise. Quietly, Kate spoke one last time before boarding the plane.

"LA, here I come."

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i hope you all enjoyed it. i know it was short, but it will get better. :

thanks for reading, and let me know if i should continue. and also, please review!


	2. Chapter 2: The New Girl

hey guys! thanks so much to everyone who reviewed:) i will continue the story here on as well as on is chapter two, everyone... (sorry, but the first couple of chapters are a little slow. they will pick up, i promise)

Enjoy :)

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Two

"So, How has school been?" Sam asked, striking up a new conversation.

Kate's plane had just landed in LA a little over an hour ago, and they were now on their way to Sam's house. Kate had to admit, as beautiful as Iowa was, LA was gorgeous as well. Gorgeous weather, beautiful scenery, and not to mention the beautiful beaches...jeez, Kate had never been to a beach before...she had only seen them on TV. 'I can't wait to get to the beach now...' Kate thought to herself.

"Great actually, I got my average over 100, so they put me on the principal's list. Plus, they let me take the SAT early, just to test my ability, and I got a 1540 out of 1600!"

"Wow honey, that's great! Mom must've been so proud" Sam said, ecstatic from Kate's extraordinary GPA.

"Yeah...she was." Kate said, a little too solemnly, striking Sam's attention.

"Oh, I'm sorry hon"-

"It's okay." Kate spoke sharply, trying desperately to end the conversation.

"Well with those grades, you won't have any problem getting into the classes at school here. I actually just spoke to the principal yesterday. He wants to meet you tomorrow, and you can begin classes Monday." said Sam.

"This Monday?" said Kate, a little unsure.

"Yeah! C'mon Katie, you of all people will do fine with fitting in. You have nothing to worry about." spoke Sam.

"Yeah, easy for you to say Daddy..." Kate said teasingly, but held some honesty to her voice.

"Katie, if there is one thing I truly know about you, it is that you are the nicest person to walk the planet. You are friendly, smart, pretty, polite, caring, funny, consid"-

"Ok Daddy! I get it!" Kate said, giggling a little bit.

Sam laughed back. "What? In my eyes, you are perfect."

Kate smiled warmly back. "Well, Daddy, for the record, you are the best Dad to walk the planet."

"That's good to hear." Sam spoke, then laughed again. "I guess we're the cool duo then. Katie and Sam, 4eva!" Sam instructed by holding up 4 fingers and putting emphasis on ev-a.

"Daddy...no...that's not cool anymore." Kate said, embarrassed, even though nobody could see them.

"Only for you Katie. Only for you."

--------------------------

"Well, Miss Austen, I have no doubt that you find major success here at Benjamin Lynch High School." spoke Principal Gray. "With you GPA over a 4.0, we were able to place you into all of your requested and desired classes. And if you ever need any help or assistance, you can come find me in my office. I am confident that you will shine here at BLHS."

"Thank you Mr. Gray. I can't explain how nervous I am right now." said Kate, a tremble evident in her voice.

"Well, every new student feels nervous, but I wouldn't worry, we have a very friendly student body and faculty here at this high school."

At that very moment, a student with dirty-blonde long hair sprinted past Kate and Mr. Gray and down the stairs, as if he was running away from something. Seconds later, a group of three teachers were seen yelling at students to "Move out of the way!!!", and quickly slid past Kate and the principal, chasing after the runaway student.

"Well, for the most part." the principal corrected himself while laughing, and then walked back to his office, leaving Kate alone.

Kate giggled. The school was beautiful. 'It was probably just built.' Kate thought to herself. As she walked over to the school map, she read her locker location and the rest of her schedule. 'Well, it's 7:45, I have 15 minutes until homeroom starts, I might as well go find my locker.' Kate thought, and then walked off to find her locker.

"6543, 6544, 6545, 6546...6547." Kate mumbled to herself. As she clicked in the combo to unlock her locker, she heard people whispering a few feet away from her.

"Is that the new girl?"

"Yeah, I think so.."

"Wait, the nerd?"

"Dude, nerds are hot...well, at least that one is."

"Totally, she's smokin."

"I hope she's single."

"Dude, I didn't know hot people could be smart too..."

"Hey, I'm gonna go ask her for her number..."

Kate felt the boy walking up towards her and she tensed up. She wasn't always fond of strangers, especially perverted boys, so she wasn't exactly comfortable.

"Hey sweet cheeks, what's happenin'?" The boy spoke in a seductive tone.

Kate slammed her locker shut, loud enough to grab the boys attention, and turned towards him, looking him straight in the eye,

"If you think I am some kind of 'weak in the knees' 'boy crazy' girl, that you think you have some kind of power over cause 'she's the new girl', you are sadly mistaken." Kate spoke in a confident tone, staring the boy cold in the eyes. "So the next time you try that move on me, I can assure you, that there will be painful consequences."

With that, Kate turned on here heel and walked off, leaving the boy speechless.

"C'mon Tom." said one of the other boys, and they walked off in the other direction.

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i hope you all liked it. :)

i will post again later today, probably, so stay tuned for updates.

thanks again for reading, and please review:)


	3. Chapter 3: Hopefully

Sorry about the wait, guys. I lost power in my house for six days. :( but here is the next chapter :)

Enjoy!

* * *

Three

"Dude, I'm so pumped for the football game tonight! Season Opener!" said Boone, a pail skinned boy with striking blue eyes and semi-long brown hair.

"I know, I'm just so nervous. You know how hard the coach is on me."

"Hey man, he's only hard on you cause your the best quarterback this school has had since...well...EVER!" Michael, another boy, pointed out.

"But..."-

"Jack!" Boone yelled. "Admit it, your the star football player here at BLHS. ADMIT IT!"

"Ugh, but that doesn't mean I'm not nervous anymore." Jack said, exasperated from arguing with his friends.

The bell rang for homeroom and all of the students took their seats, as Mrs. McManus walked in and sat behind the large desk at the front of the room. The students continued their small side conversations quietly until Mrs. McManus spoke.

"Attention students!" Mrs. McManus yelled, grabbing every ones attention. "Today, we have a new student in out class. It is a girl and her name is - "

As Mrs. McManus spoke, the door opened and Kate walked into the room. She looked pretty nervous, as she held her books close to her chest and let her shoulders slump forward a little bit.

"Kate Austen." Mrs. McManus finished, and the rest of the class looked at Kate. "Welcome to Benjamin Lynch High School Miss Austen. My name is Mrs. McManus. If you have any questions, just let me know." Mrs. McManus spoke directly to Kate, and then to the class. "Kate here is from Iowa."

"Iowa. More like No-wheres-ville..." Boone said under his breath, but everyone heard him.

"BOONE!" the teacher scalded him. "Anyways, Kate you can take the empty seat in the back next to Jack."

"Thank you." Kate spoke quietly, and then quickly moved to the last seat in the row, and sat down.

While Mrs. McManus was giving the 'Welcome Kate Speech' for the past five minutes, Jack just stared at Kate. 'She's really pretty.' Jack thought. 'She probably has a boyfriend back home.' he thought again. As he continued to stare mesmerized at her, he heard Mrs. McManus say his name, and then saw Kate walking towards him. He gulped. 'Maybe I should introduce myself.' he though. 'No stupid, she'll think your a stalker.' 'No she won't.' 'Yeah, she will.'

"Hi, I'm Jack." Jack whispered towards Kate, as she sat timidly in here chair.

'Nice one Jack, nice one.' he thought to himself. 'Could you sound any dumber? Now she thinks your a stalker AND your an idiot.'

"Hi Jack. I'm Kate...but you probably already know that." Kate whispered back while giggling.

'Man she has a cute giggle.' Jack thought again. 'Jeez, what is wrong with me. I haven't known this girl for more than 3 minutes and I already can't stop thinking about her...I need help.'

"So, ummmm, I'll see you around then?" Jack said, mentally kicking himself for sounding so dumb.

"Hopefully." Kate smiled, and the bell rang.

Kate stood up, gathered her books, and took one last glance at Jack, flashed him a warm smile, and walked off to her next class.

Jack just stood there, a mixture of shock and happiness registered in his body.

'Hopefully' Jack thought. He liked the sound of that.

He liked it a lot.

* * *


	4. Chapter 4: Friends

Four

"Is anybody sitting here?" said a strong male voice.

After homeroom, Kate walked to Chemistry, but she couldn't take her mind off of the boy in homeroom. 'Jack' Kate thought. 'He seems so nice...no one has ever really been that nice to me. I hope I have more classes with him.'' What am I talking about, he was just doing what was right...he doesn't wanna end up with bad karma like the rest of us...he probably already forgot my name.' Kate thought again. She didn't know why, but just thinking about Jack gave her a small little chill up her spine...a good chill, like the chill you get when you wake up and you realize it's Christmas, or when you get exactly what you wanted for your birthday. 'But I'm not here to focus on Jack or any boys...I'm here to focus on my academics...if I want to go to Columbia University, I'm gonna need all of the good grades I can get.' Kate thought again.

Kate continued through out the day, going through Chemistry with Mr. Davis (who had really gross greasy hair), English with Mrs. Marks, and Math with Ms. Spencer. Finally, it was lunch time, and Kate made her way to the cafeteria. As she walked in, friends were meeting up with each other and gathering at the large lunch tables with their food. 'Great, only one problem...where do I sit?' Kate thought, and then spotted an empty table where no one was sitting. 'Guess I'm sitting there.' And Kate made her way over with her brown paper bag of lunch and sat down, all alone. As she began eating, she heard a male voice speak from right behind her.

"Is anybody sitting here?"

Kate turned around and saw him.

"Hey Jack! Sure you can sit here." Kate said, excited to see him.

"Thanks." said Jack, and he sat down directly next to Kate. 'He is so cute.' Kate thought, then mentally scalded herself. 'Stop it! He'll see you blushing.'

"You ok Kate? You look a little red..." Jack started, but was cut off by Kate

"I'm fine!" Kate said brightly, a little too brightly, and it didn't go unnoticed by Jack.

"O-k..." Jack said, and then laughed. "So how is your first day going? Are people being nice? Cause if their not, give me names so I know who to talk to." Jack said, and laughed at the end.

"It's ok. Except for this morning, this one kid tried to hit on me...but I talked to him and straightened it out." Kate said, flashing back to that morning where she threatened pain on the boy who flirted with her.

"Who was it?" Jack said, seriously.

"What?"

"Who was it, who was the guy?" Jack said again.

"Umm, I don't know his name, I'm sorry." Kate said, a little intimidated.

"Well, if you see him, let me know, and I will straighten him out."

For some reason, this made Kate feel...well...safe. Something that she hadn't felt in a long time. No one had ever stood up for her, in any situation, not even her mom, and here, a complete stranger that she just met a couple of hours ago and probably only said 10 sentences to was already defending her. She had to admit, she liked this.

She loved it.

"Oh Kate, do you mind if my friends come over and sit with us? They're really nice, don't worry." Jack asked politely.

"Sure, I don't mind at all. The more nice people I meet, the better." Kate smiled back at Jack.

"Ok, cool." Jack waved his hand in the air, signaling his friends to make their way over to the table.

A boy with semi-long blonde hair and blue eyes, a girl with long, wavy blonde hair and blue eyes, a dark-skinned boy, who looked middle-eastern, and another girl with short blonde hair walked over to the table, carrying their lunch trays.

"Kate, this is Charlie, Claire, Sayid, and Shannon...Guys, this is Kate Austen...she just moved here from Iowa." Jack introduced the teens.

"Hi Kate, I'm Shannon, I like clothes and shopping...oh and boys...I LOVE boys." Shannon said, and the rest of the group giggled at her forwardness.

"Hi Shannon, it's so nice to meet you." Kate said, still recovering from laughing.

"Hi, I'm Claire, and like Shannon, I like to shop, but not as much. I really like art though." Claire spoke sweetly, and Kate could tell they were going to be great friends.

"Hey Kate, Charlie Pace. I, unlike these two female shopaholics, hate shopping. I play guitar and I sing. I am in a Band." Charlie said, when Jack interrupted.

"You mean your are in the process of making a band."

"Well...yeah...but" Charlie started, but was then cut off by Sayid.

"Save it Charlie. Hello Kate, my name is Sayid. I like football, and I play on the team with Jack." He spoke confidently and very clearly.

"Hey, yeah, I think I saw you in my math class." Kate spoke, and was interupted by Shannon.

"Wait. You're in his math class?!?! No one is smarter than Sayid in our grade. Well, Jack is pretty close, but Sayid is in a Senior math class, are you a sophomore?" Shannon spoke shocked.

"Yeah, I'm a sophomore. But I already took the SAT's." Kate spoke and the whole table went silent.

"Is something wrong?" Kate said, confused and concerned.

"Looks like Sayid's got some competition on smartest kid in the 10th grade." Charlie chimed in, recieving a glare from Sayid.

"So you are all sophomores?" Kate asked.

Everyone nodded their heads 'Yes' and Kate suddenly felt very comfortable with this small group of people. She had a strong feeling that this was going to be a good year.

A great year.

Kate went through the rest of the day and the rest of her classes, discovering she had History with Jack, - which made her very happy - Art with Claire, Spanish with Sayid and Shannon, and a Study Hall with Charlie.

The 9th period bell rang, signaling the end of the school day, and Kate walked out of Spanish with Sayid and Shannon. They all walked to Shannon's locker, where they met Claire, Charlie, and Jack.

"So what's up for after school?" Shannon asked, striking up a new conversation.

"We've got football." said Jack, pointing to sayid and himself.

"Oh yeah! The season opener is tonight!" Claire said, excitedly.

"Yeah, Homecoming is next week." said Sayid. He and Jack smiled and pounded fists.

"And Homecoming means Homecoming Dance! Which means dress shopping!!!" Shannon yelled.

"God Shannon, don't you already have, like, 430 dresses?" asked Charlie.

"Yeah, but I can't wear the same dress more than once. I mean, what if someone saw me wearing one and then they saw me again wearing the same dress?!?!" Shannon stated as if it were a fact of life.

Everyone just stared at Shannon, confused and somewhat amused.

"Anyways..."Claire started "Kate, every year, the night before Homecoming, our school has a Homecoming Dance. Y'know, all football players ask the cheerleaders to be their dates, and then everyone else goes with dates or a group of friends. That's what we did last year. Charlie, Shannon, Sayid, and myself went as a small group. It's always so much fun."

"Hey, not all of the football players go with cheerleaders!" Sayid said, but Charlie chimed in.

"Sayid, you were one of 3 guys on the team that went by yourself. The rest went with cheerleaders. Sorry mate, your alone on that one."

Shannon spoke up. "Yeah, Jack went with Sarah." Claire then 'oooooh'-ed sarcastically.

Kate was confused. "Who's Sarah?"

"Don't even get me started on her." Claire said. "She's the captain of the cheerleading team. Sure she is pretty, but she is the biggest bi-atch you will EVER meet."

"I'm still here y'know." Jack chimed in, but Claire ignored him.

"All of the boys go chasing her around. It's like she has got them wrapped around her finger. And she is so mean. I mean Shannon, remember the time -"

"We're not gonna talk about that..." Shannon almost yelled. "Anyways, Kate, all you need to know about her is to stay away from her and if she is mean to you, it isn't personal. She's literally the devil."

"Ummm, hi. Yeah, I have been standing here the whole time." Jack said, a little uncomfortable. He almost didn't want Kate to know that he took Sarah to the dance last year. 'Why would she care who I dated.' he thought.

"Sorry Jack. But if there is one thing Kate needs to know about the school's Cheer-Devil, it's that she needs to stay away from her." Claire said, matter-of-factly.

Kate decided it was a good time to speak. "Well, I would love to come with you guys, but do any of you have dates yet, cause I KNOW I won't have a date by next week."

Jack had the urge to jump up and down yelling 'come with me! I'll ask you!' but instead he just blushed and looked down, not going unnoticed by Sayid and Charlie.

"Don't worry Kate, actually NONE of us have dates yet." Claire said reassuringly. "Nobody really get's them until next week. I mean, school just started 3 weeks ago...people are still getting the 'back to school' feeling."

"But you are so coming dress shopping with us next week." Shannon stated, almost forcing Kate to come with them.

"Okay, Shannon, I will, don't worry." Kate said.

"Great!" Shannon said and smiled.

Sayid looked at his watch and looked up. "It's 2:45, and our bus leaves at 3:15. We've got to go."

"Who are you guys playing?" Claire asked.

"Lincoln High...it's basically an automatic win." Jack said proudly. "We'll probably be back by six tonight."

"Good luck." Kate said, looking at Jack.

Jack blushed and looked down at the ground, and then back up at Kate, "Thanks...umm, so I see you tomorrow."

"Yeah, umm, see ya tomorrow." Kate said shyly.

"Ahem." Charlie coughed, and Jack and Kate looked up.

"Anyways..."Charlie began "Good luck guys. Jack, call me tonight, yeah?"

"Yeah, don't worry." Jack said.

"Alright, you two go, we'll see you tomorrow." Shannon said, ushering them towards the locker rooms.

"Good luck!!!" Kate, Claire, and Charlie chimed in together.

"Thanks!" Sayid and Jack said in unison.

Charlie, Claire, Shannon, and Kate were walking home when Kate started talking.

"So, where do you guys actually live?"

"Well, Charlie, Jack, and I live on Neil Drive." Claire stated

"No way! So do I!" Kate said excitedly.

"Wait, don't tell me your dad is Sam Austen." Charlie asked.

"Yeah! Oh my God, how did you know?" Kate asked, laughing.

"Dude, he only makes the best chocolate chip cookies EVER! Better than my mom!" Charlie said excitedly, and then looked around when everyone just starred at him.

"What, I like cookies..." Charlie said innocently.

Claire spoke up. "Wait, so you live at number 10?"

"Yeah." Kate said.

"Jack lives at number 8! And I live at number 5, and Charlie lives at number 2!" Claire said.

"Wow, that is so freaky!!! What a coincidence!" Kate said.

"Yeah, so it looks like Jack is your next door neighbor!" Claire said, very excited.

"How weird is that?! I guess we're all neighbors!" Kate said, very happy that Jack was her next door neighbor.

"Yup, and Shannon and Sayid lived around the corner." Charlie said, looking at Shannon.

"Yeah, we live on Mark Street." Shannon said.

"I guess it's a small world after all." Kate stated.


	5. Chapter 5: The Neighbor

thanks to everyone who reviewed! you are all so kind:)

here's the next chapter, and i feel like this is the real start of the story.

Enjoy:)

* * *

Five

"Hey sweetie! How was your first day of school?" Sam asked Kate as she walked up the stone path towards the porch.

"Suprisingly, it was really good. Perfect...almost." Kate answered, as her mind drifted towards Jack and her new friends.

"I see you've made some friends." Sam pointed to Charlie and Claire as they waved back at him.

"Yeah, that's Charlie and Claire. They're so nice. And they know you! They live on this block too!" Kate said happily.

"Yeah, they're great kids. Claire comes over and helps me around the house, while Charlie just comes for my cookies." Sam laughed.

"I heard. Apparently, they're better than his mom's." Kate said.

Sam laughed."So, did you meet anyone else besides Charlie and Claire?"

"Yeah, a girl named Shannon and a boy named Sayid. They live around the corner." Kate said, and pointed sown the street.

"Yeah, I've seen them around. They are friends with Charlie and Claire." Sam realized.

"Yeah, and then I also met a boy named Jack. He's so nice. Apparently, he lives right next door." Kate said, as she pointed to the house to the left.

"Oh, you mean Christian's boy? That's great, I've known him since he was this high." Sam instructed by sticking his arm out and holding it low to the ground. "Great kid. Very nice."

"Yeah, he was the first guy to talk to me today. He is one of the nicest people I've ever met, and I just met him." Kate said, not noticing the blush creeping up on her cheeks.

"Uhh, Katie, are you ok? You look a little...red?" Sam asked concerned.

'Crap' Kate thought.

"Uhhh, I am gonna go start my homework, bye Daddy." Kate said quickly, giving him a quick peck on the cheek, and ran into the house, and up the stairs to her room.

Since Kate had only moved in 2 days ago, there were still tons and tons of boxes stacked around her room. The only things that filled the room that weren't in boxes were her bed, a desk ,and lamp. There was also a picture of her on her farm in Iowa...and one picture of here and her mom.

Kate walked into her room and threw her books onto her desk. She collapsed onto her bed and turned her head towards the picture of her and her mom.

"Hey mom." Kate whispered softly to the picture. "Today was my first day of school here in LA. It was...well...amazing. I met this boy. His name is Jack, and he is so nice. And really cute to boot. He really made me feel right at home. No one has ever really made me feel that way."

Kate knew that if someone walked into the room and saw her talking to a picture, they would call the nearest mental hospital, but a few times, Kate needed to vent about her day, and this was one of those moments. She used to tell her mom everything. They would talk about school, and teachers, and boys, and tv, and they used to do things together. They did everything together. That was until he showed up. Then, he used to beat her. And harass her. And every night, Kate would sit silently in her bed, while she listened to her mother scream in the other room.

Kate tried calling the police.

Once.

And that night she called the police, he came after her.

"Anyways, I already love it here in LA. Of course I miss Iowa, but I feel safe here. I have Sam, and now I have Jack and my new friends. I don't know if I am jumping to conclusions about Jack though, I mean, I've only known him for a day."

Kate smiled at the picture. Kate was 7 years old. It was one year before Diane was diagnosed with cancer. It was while they were still happy. It was before he came into their lives.

"I miss you mom. I wish you were here, and I've been trying to think of why God did this to me. Why he did this to you. I can't think of why he would take you away from me, but I think he wanted this pain to end. He knew you were suffering. With your cancer and with...him. He wanted to save you. And the night that I got the call that you...passed on...I ran out into the street, in the pouring rain. And I looked up at the sky, and I asked somebody to save me. And God saved me. He brought me to LA to live with Dad, and to make new friends. He wanted me to have a new start. A fresh start. A clean slate. A Tabula Rasa."

A tear slid down Kate's freckled cheek, and her speech became muffled.

"So now, you are up in heaven, and I am here in LA. We both have a new start. We have another chance. And we will meet again, one day. I love you Mommy."

Kate then sat up and grabbed a tissue out of her bag, and wiped away the salty tears that fell from her icy green eyes.

----------------------------------------

"So...Jack." Sayid started. They were on the football bus, on the way home from their game. They had a strong win against Lincoln High - 35 to 7 - mostly thanks to Jack. He, Sayid and two other guys were the only sophomores on the varsity team, and Jack was the only freshman on the varsity team last year. Yet, he is still one of the teams most valuable players.

"So...Sayid."Jack said back.

"I could not help but notice how you acted towards Kate today." Sayid started, and Jack blushed. "Do I sense a little crush here?"

"Sayid...let me tell you something." Unfortunately, Jack was cut off by Coach Sanders.

"Alright!! Nice game today boys!!"

"YEAH!!! WOOT! YEAH!!" the team cheered.

"Hey!! We may have won against Lincoln, but I think this season, we can go really far. I'm thinking...playoff's." Coach Sanders said happily.

"WOO! YEAH!" the team cheered again.

"Calm down ya bunch of baboons." Coach said under his breath.

Jack and Sayid heard this and laughed. They liked Coach Sanders. He might have been tough, but he was nice to them since they cooperated. But he was a no-nonsense kind of a guy. One stupid move and you were off the team.

"Alright!!" Coach started again. "Now, not to single anyone out, but I think there is one player here that deserves a little bit of attention for his awesome playing today. Jack, stand up!"

Jack was too shy to stand up, so two seniors grabbed him and picked him up, causing Jack to hit his head on the roof of the bus.

"Easy there! That's precious gold your hoisting up there!" Coach yelled and everyone laughed.

The whole football team clapped and cheered for Jack, and the two seniors put him down.

"Now folks...Homecoming is next week, and that means the Homecoming dance is next week." Coach started. The whole bus erupted in "Ohhh"s and "Oh yeah!"s.

"So I want you boys to be careful with what you do Friday night. If you come to that game totally trashed, your not only not playin in the game, your not playin for the rest of the season."

The whole bus went silent, and coach spoke again.

"You folks are setting a standard for the rest of the school, and I don't want you walking around trashed before the game. Now, who wants that play-off trophy?"

"WE DO!" the team cheered.

"BLHS! BLHS! BLHS!!!!" they all cheered.

Jack and Sayid looked at each other a pounded fists. This was gonna be a good season.

They could feel it.

---------------------------

"Hello?"

"Hey Charlie, it's Jack."

"Hey mate, how was the game?"

"We won, big time."

"That's great. Congrats man."

"Yeah thanks dude."

Charlie and Jack have known each other since Kindergarten, and have been best friends ever since. They hang out together every weekend, and are basically brothers. Sure Claire and Shannon and Sayid were their best friends too, but Charlie and Jack were able to talk to each other about everything. And the other was always there for them.

"So, what's up?" Jack asked.

"Nothin..."Charlie said in a high pitched voice.

"Charlie, you ok man?" Jack asked, concerned.

"Dude, I need to talk to you about something." Charlie said, taking a deep breath.

"Sure man, whatever you need, I'm here." Jack said honestly.

"Well...ummm...it's about Claire." Charlie started.

Jack laughed. "I knew it man. Do you like her?"

Charlie sighed. "Well...yeah...I guess...well...sorta...kinda...YES! SHE'S BLOODY PERFECT! SHE SMART, SHE'S NICE, AND SHE'S DROP DEAD GORGEOUS! DID I MENTION THAT SHE'S BLOODY PERFECT??!?!?!?!"

Jack laughed. He always knew Charlie had a crush on Claire, and he got the vibe that she liked him back, but they never said anything about it to each other. Claire was Charlie's other best friend.

"Dude, that's fine. Actually, it's great!" Jack said happily.

"WHAT!?!? ARE YOU KIDDING?!?! THIS IS GOING TO RUIN EVERYTHING!!! IF SHE DOESN'T LIKE ME BACK, SHE WON'T EVER TALK TO ME AGAIN!!!! BLOODY HELL MATE, WHAT AM I GOING TO DO?!?!?!" Charlie was hyperventilating now.

"Ok, Charlie, just calm down." Jack said calmly. He was going to make a good doctor like his father wanted him to be. If you ever needed someone to stay calm in a crazy, hectic situation, Jack was your man.

"Jack, what am I going to do? She is too bloody amazing to lose as a friend. What if she doesn't like me back."

"Charlie, have you seen the way she looks at you? I'm not blind Charlie, but apparently you are...she's totally in to you." Jack said reassuringly. "You will never know if she feels the same if you don't tell her."

"Bloody hell, I'm going to faint." Charlie said exasperated.

"Do you want me to come over?" Jack asked.

"Yeah, I think you should." Charlie said.

"Ok, I'll be there in 3 minutes." Jack said.

"Kay, see ya." Charlie said, and then hung up the phone.

It was 6:45pm, as Jack walked out into the warm LA September air. As he walked down the steps of his porch and down the cobble stone path that led to the sidewalk, he heard a front door close nearby. Jack turned his head to see Kate walking over to the swinging chair on her porch with her ipod and a book.

'Wait. She lives next door?!?' Jack thought. 'It can't get any better than that...wow. That means her dad is Sam Austen. No way! He's so cool!' As Jack gathered all of this information, Kate looked up from her porch to see Jack staring at her from the side walk.

'What is he doing? He's so cute.' Kate thought. 'Stop it Kate! You've only known him for a day! You should say something! Nah, he'll say it first. No he won't, he doesn't know you see him.'

"Hey stranger!" Kate called out to Jack.

'Crap' Jack thought. 'She caught me starring. Now I'm even more of an idiot than I was this morning.'

"Hey!!!" Jack called back, and walked up to Kate's porch on the emerald green grass.

"How was the football game?" Kate asked curiously.

'She's so nice. She actually remembered. Most girls couldn't give a crap about football.' Jack thought.

"It was awesome...we won.." Jack said nonchalantly.

"Wow! You did?! That's great! Congratulations!!!!" Kate said, obviously happy. She stood up from the swinging chair and leaned over the porch railing and wrapped Jack in a big warm hug.

'Oh my God. Oh my God. Don't panic. Wow. She's hugging me. Snap out of it Jack, you haven't known her for 24 hours, and your already drooling.' Jack thought.

'What are you doing? Why are you hugging him? Snap out of it Kate, he probably thinks your some slut who hugs every guy that says 3 words to her." Kate thought to herself.

Kate pulled away from Jack and stood awkwardly on the porch while he stood in the flowerbed that surrounded the bottom of the porch.

"So, how was the rest of your day?" Jack asked politely.

'He's so polite.' Kate thought.

"It was good. Well, kinda boring. All I did was homework and I helped cook dinner." Kate answered. "So where are you headed?"

'She's so down to earth.' Jack thought.

"Oh, um, I was just heading to Charlie's. He wants to have some boy talk." Jack answered.

"Oh, I gotcha. I found out that you, me, Charlie, and Claire all live on this block. How awesome is that?!" Kate said happily.

'She's adorable.' Jack thought.

"Yeah, it's pretty cool. It means we can hang out more." Jack said.

'Crap, why did you say that?! Now she's gonna think you wanna see her more. Well, you do...but, ugh, I don't know anymore.' Jack thought.

"Totally! It's gonna be awesome!" Kate said.

'Or maybe she'll agree.' Jack thought again.

'Wow, he actually wants to see me more? Cool.' Kate thought.

"So, are you all settled in yet?" Jack asked.

'Jeez, he's so sweet.'

"Well, not exactly. All I have unpacked are my bed and my desk. And of course some clothes and a toothbrush." Kate laughed.

'She has an amazing laugh.'

"Well, that's good. But if you need help unpacking anything, I'm here to help." Jack said, then looked down at the ground, blushing.

"Actually, I think I will need some help. I mean, Sam will be here, but an extra two hands won't hurt." Kate offered.

'Did you just invite him to your house?'

'Did she just invite me to her house?'

"Yeah, I'd love to come over and help. When do you want me to come over?"

"How does Saturday sound?" Kate asked.

"Saturday sounds great." Jack answered, and they both blushed.

Jack looked at his watch ad realized it was almost 7 o'clock.

'Dammit. I forgot about Charlie.'

"Oh, God, Kate, I'm sorry. I totally forgot about Charlie's house...ummm, I've - "

"I'll see you tomorrow Jack." Kate smiled warmly and giggled.

"Uh, right, uh, tomorrow. And Saturday." Jack stuttered.

"And Saturday." Kate answered happily back.

"Ok, um, bye Kate." Jack smiled and waved, and then turned and started walking towards Charlie's house.

"Bye Jack." Kate said softly, but he could still hear it.

For some reason, they both secretly wished it was Saturday already.

* * *

thanks again for reading, guys:)


	6. Chapter 6: Good Morning

Six

"What took you so long, mate!?"

"I said I was sorry! Can we just end it?!"

"What were you doing? Wait...ugh...do I even wanna know?"

"Stop it! That's not funny...and it's not like THATS ever happened before..."

"Sure mate, whatever you say..."

"CHARLIE!"

Jack had just arrived at Charlie's house less than 30 seconds ago, and Charlie was already scalding him for being 10 minutes late. As they headed towards the staircase, they continued their bickering.

"Charlie, I came over here to discuss this Cl" - Jack started, but was cut off by Charlie's hand flying over his mouth.

"SHHHH! MY MOM'S HOME! Jeez, the last thing I need is my MOM following me around, nagging me saying 'Go ask Claire out!', or 'How's Claire doing?" or" -

"Okay! I get it! No talk with your Mom about this. This is strictly man talk." Jack said understandingly.

"Thank you." Charlie said, letting out a long breath, and they continued up the stairs to Charlie's room.

As they entered Charlie's room, they were greeted with many posters of many bands, most of which Jack had never heard of. Jack had been over Charlie's house thousand's of times, but never bothered to ask who they were. He figured if he said one word about it, Charlie would ramble on about them until sunrise. Charlie had a passion for music, and played the guitar and piano. He was also a fantastic vocalist. He was struggling to create a band, since none of his friends played instruments. He had tried to teach them...but it didn't work out so nicely.

flashback

"No, Shannon, your holding it wrong…the long end of the guitar is where you place your hands…"

"Says who?"

"Says…ugh…I don't know….me? Here, let me show you..."

"I can do it!"

WHACK!

"Owww!"

"Oh my God! Charlie! Are you okay?"

"My nose!!!"

end flashback

Long story short, Charlie got out with a broken nose and had to wear a cast on his face for two weeks. And he didn't escape public humiliation either.

flashback

"Charlie. What the heck is on your face?"

"Wow, it looks like a giant munchkin plastered to his nose!"

"Shut up Sayid. The doctor says I have to wear it for two whole weeks…."

"Aww, Charlie, don't be sad! Look at the bright side, at least now your won't have a crooked nose!"

"Thanks Claire, but unfortunately, not everyone is as nice as you…"

"Hey! Pace! You better run, or your gonna need a cast for your cast!!!"

"Gotta go!"

end flashback

"So…… Charlie…." Jack began awkwardly.

"So…… Jack……" Charlie responded back.

Jack sat on Charlie's bed while Charlie sat on the rolling chair at his desk, spinning himself around in circles as a distraction from the awkward silence in the room.

"Charlie, about this whole Claire thing…." Jack began. Charlie stood up from the chair and started pacing.

"Jack… what am I gonna go? You and I have known Claire since we were in Kindergarten! What if she doesn't like me back? She'll be afraid of me! I mean, WHAT DO EXPECT ME TO DO?! JUST WALK UP TO HER AND SAY, "HEY CLAIRE! YOUR HOT! LET'S GO OUT AND BE BOYFRIEND AND GIRLFRIEND?!" IT DOESN'T WORK LIKE THAT JACK! I DON'T GET GIRLS AS EASILY AS YOU DO! YOU CAN HAVE ANYONE YOU WANT! YOU CAN GO UP TO A TOTALLY RANDOM GIRL YOU HAVE NEVER MET BEOFRE AND SAY "Hey, your hot, I'm hot, let's date…" I'M NOT PERFECT LIKE YOU, JACK! IT'S DIFFERENT FOR ME!"

Charlie stopped pacing and was now standing still in front of Jack, his face beet red, breathing heavily from screaming. They both just stared at each other, silently, neither knowing what to say next. That was until a few minutes later, Jack spoke. He spoke quietly, with a tone of shock, confusion, and happiness in his voice.

"Oh my God…… Oh my God." Jack said slowly and quietly. "You're falling for her. You're falling for her, aren't you?!? YOU'RE FALLING FOR HER!" Jack stood up and grabbed Charlie by the shoulders, showing off his huge grin to the beat red Charlie, who just looked down. Jack then spoke again softly, with a small laugh, smiling a big smile at his best friend.

"You're falling for Claire."

--------------------------------------

Warmth. Softness. Comfort. Rest.

As the sun rose through the purple, orange sky, the cool night breeze was replaced with a warm, summer air that wasn't too soft to go without feeling, yet not too hard to send your hair flying through the air. It was a smooth breeze that blew through the quiet suburbs of Los Angeles, a welcoming air to the start of a fresh, new weekend.

As the sun's rays peeked through the blinds of Kate's room, she rolled over in bed, to be greeted by the blinding light of the golden, yellow sun. She peeked one eye open and looked towards her alarm clock, sinking back under the covers when she read what time it was.

'Ugh…6:45? I really need to get used to this new time zone.' Kate thought to herself.

As she closed her eyes again, she drifted in and out of sleep until 8:00, when she couldn't sleep any longer, and she sat up in her bed. As she stretched out her arms above her head, she yawned, and collapsed back onto the bed below her. She sat up again, and scanned the empty, lifeless room.

'I need to start unpacking these boxes.' She thought, and then she remembered something… something special enough to spread a small, warm smile across her soft face. 'Jack's coming over today.' Kate thought again, and smiled warmly at the thought.

'I get to see Jack today.'

It was Saturday morning, and the rest of the week had gone extremely smoothly. On Tuesday, Jack helped Kate find all of her classes again, and walked her everywhere. On Wednesday, Claire, Charlie, Kate, and Jack went out for ice cream after dinner, and took the long route home. They all showed Kate their favorite sights in town, including the ice cream parlor, the cinema, the pizzeria, some of Claire and Shannon's favorite places to shop, and the last stop on the way home, 'The Field'.

'The Field' was the name that Jack, Claire, Charlie, Shannon, and Sayid dubbed for the extraordinary field behind the back roads. It wasn't exactly a creative name, but they discovered it in the second grade, so their vocabulary wasn't exactly broad. To get to the field, they walked along the back roads and down a dirt road until they reached a fence. They hopped over the fence, and walked through a field of tall grass until they got to the top of the hill. When they reached the top, you would never know you were a few miles outside of LA. In the distance, there was a mountain range, full of tall, broad mountains. Then, down in the valley, there was a river that streamed all the way down to the mountain base. There were a few trees scattered around the field, but most of it was an open field. It was a steep hill down to the bottom of the valley, steep enough to sled down, but still easy to walk down. But the best view was at the top of the hill, where they all sat and ate their ice cream, watching the sun set behind the mountains. It was truly, extraordinary. Kate liked 'The Field'. It reminded her of home.

Thursday, the group of friends all stayed after school. Jack and Sayid went to football practice, while Claire and Kate went to the art room to work on their art projects. Charlie went to the band room, while Shannon went to the fashion club meeting. Kate had only been in school for four days, but she already loved it. While most kids hated going to school, Kate loved her new friends, and she was excited to see them everyday.

Friday finally came, and the whole group left school at normal dismissal time. Football was cancelled for the team to take a rest day, and nobody else had a reason to stay after school, so they all went to the pizzeria on Main Street. Kate had started becoming closer friends with Jack, while Charlie was spending more time with Claire. That left Shannon and Sayid, who spent a lot of time together anyway, but were becoming closer more recently. Kate and Jack talked about school and Saturday, Charlie and Claire talked about funny old memories, and Shannon and Sayid sat in an awkward silence. That's when Sayid spoke up.

"So…. Umm, how's your pizza?" he asked awkwardly.

"Uhhhh….. what? Oh, it's good, good, yeah…." Shannon stuttered. She was staring longingly at Sayid until she realized that he was actually speaking to her.

"Oh, good…. Umm, yeah." Sayid said nervously, and then laughed.

'Why is he acting so weird, I have known him since Kindergarten. He never acts this way around me…' Shannon thought to herself. 'Hello, dumbass, your acting the same way….WAIT. That can't mean what I think it means……can it?' She thought again nervously.

'Do I like Sayid?'

--------------------

Kate jumped out of her bed and sprinted down the stairs in her pajama bottoms and tank top. She ran into the kitchen to find her Dad cooking breakfast.

"Mornin' Daddy!" Kate rushed her welcome, giving her Dad a quick peck on the cheek, grabbing an apple at the same time, and then running out and back up the stairs again.

"Wonder what's gotten into her….." Sam thought out loud.

Kate sprinted into her room and threw open a box that contained all of her clothes. She pulled out her nicest pair of jeans and a dressy top and threw them on the bed. She was half way through slipping her jeans on when she realized something.

'Wait. Why am I putting on a dressy outfit, if all we are going to be doing is manual labor all day?' Kate thought to herself. 'Why am I picking out my nicest outfit, if I am going to be painting my room and moving furniture? I should be wearing overalls and a bandana on my head…..and why do I care so much about what to wear? And why am I rushing to get ready?'

Kate asked herself all of these questions, and finally came to a realization.

'Do I like Jack?'

It hit her like a bus. 'But wait, I've only known him for six days… there is no way I can like him… is there?' Kate plopped down onto her bed, causing her to bounce up and down. 'But I can't like him… I DON'T EVEN KNOW HIM!' She thought to herself. 'Ugh, this is so weird. Jeez Kate, what is wrong with you. You don't have the hot's for someone after knowing them for six days…Or do you?' Kate collapsed onto her back, and sprawled her arms out across the bed. She didn't even realize she was laying there in a tank top and her underwear, her jeans around her ankles. She just stared at the ceiling, blankly. No sign of emotion crossed her face. She just laid there. Looking for a sign. Looking for the answers. Then she thought out loud, in a soft whisper.

'What now?'

----------------

'Ding Dong. Ding Dong.' The doorbell rang.

"I'll get it!" Sam yelled.

Sam approached the door and opened it, revealing a happy, smiling Jack. He was wearing denim blue jeans and a collared T-shirt, with green, blue, and white horizontal stripes.

"Good morning Mr. Austen." Jack greeted politely.

"Good morning Jack. Come on in!" Sam greeted warmly, patting him on the back as he entered the house.

"So, how are the old folks doing?" Sam asked.

"They're good. Mom's home today of course, but Dad's at the hospital." Jack said.

"Again? Does he ever leave?" Sam asked exasperated.

"Not really." Jack said in a joking tone, but didn't laugh.

They stood in an awkward silence for a couple of seconds until Sam remember why Jack was there.

"Oh, Jack, Kate's in her room upstairs. You can go on up." Sam said warmly.

"Thanks Mr. Austen!" Jack said, and started walking up the steps towards Kate's room.

Jack didn't know why, but he had butterflies in his stomach while he approached Kate's room. 'Calm down Jack. There's no reason to be nervous… she's just a girl...' Jack thought. 'But she's not just any girl… she's different.' He thought again. 'Oh c'mon Jack. Get over yourself. You just met her….how can you say that? It's almost as if you like her.' Jack stopped walking and stood at the top of the stairs. He just stared at the wall in front of him.

'Wait. What?!?! No, no, no, I don't like her…I JUST MET HER! Ok, ok, just get it out of your head. How am I supposed to do that? I'M SPENDING THE ENTIRE DAY WITH HER!!! Ugh, ok, whatever. I'm done.'

As Jack looked around at all of the doors, he spotted one that was closed and figured it must be Kate's, since all of the other door's were open and had no sign's of girly items, or girls.

As Jack approached the closed door, he knocked softly at first and then a little harder. When he heard no response, he thought it would be okay just to open the door. And that's what he did. And at that moment, he was thrown into the most awkward situation of his life.

There, sprawled out on the bed, was Kate. And it wasn't just Kate. It was a half-naked Kate. HALF-NAKED. Jack thought he might pass out. She was just lying there, motionless. Jack thought she might be unconscious, but he saw her chest rising up and down. Then he stuttered.

"Uhhh…. Ummm, oh my God, I'm sorry…." Jack said loudly.

Kate shot up from the bed like a lightning bolt with a shocked and embarrassed look on here face. Her cheeks burned a dark red, very quickly, and her eye's looked as if they were going to pop out of her skull.

"Oh my God! Oh my God!" Kate yelled, truly embarrassed and utterly horrified with the situation.

Jack stood there like a complete idiot, just staring at here.

'Jack! YOU LOOK LIKE AN IDIOT! AGAIN!!! THAT'S THREE TIMES IN ONE WEEK! STOP STARING AT HER!!!' he thought.

"Oh, uhhh…. Ummmm, I will leave… uhhh, ok….ummm, bye." Jack stuttered quickly and closed the door shut, leaving a horrified Kate standing in the middle of her room in a tank top, her underwear, and a pair of jeans around her ankles.

'Good Morning Jack Shepherd.' Kate thought to herself, and collapsed back onto the bed.


	7. Chapter 7: Lemons

Seven

_'Oh my God, Oh my God, Oh my God.'_ Jack was pacing outside Kate's bedroom door like a maniac. _'It was an accident! But I didn't exactly MOVE right away. Ugh, I looked like such an idiot.'_ Jack's face was beet red from a mixture of humiliation and embarrassment. _'I saw Kate Austen. Naked. Oh my God. Well, I didn't exactly see her naked...per se, but it was kinda sorta...a little...ugh, don't flatter yourself Jack. You looked and acted like an idiot and that is that. I wouldn't be surprised if she never opened the door again.' _All of the sudden, Jack heard a thud come from inside of the room. _'Great, now she is probably smacking her head into the wall from humiliation.'_ Jack thought. _'Great. Just great.'_ Jack let out an exhausted sigh, and continued pacing outside the bedroom door.

Kate just stood at the door. _'Oh my God, Oh my God, Oh my God. Jack Shepherd just saw me naked. Oh my God. Well, I wasn't really naked, per se, but still...oh God, what if he tells his friends that I have the ugliest body ever! Crap. Great. Just Great.'_ Kate started to pace, but forgot that the jeans were still around her ankles. 'THUD!' Kate tripped and smacked flat onto her stomach on the floor. _'Owww. Ugh. Owww.'_ Kate scrambled to get up and try to pull the jeans off, but wound up tripping again, this time, falling onto the bed. _'I'm such a ditz.'_ Kate thought.

A couple minutes later, Kate finally got dressed into a pair of old, baggy jeans and a plain white T-shirt, and gathered up some courage to actually open the door. _'I hope he's actually still here._' She though to herself. '_I wouldn't be surprised if he left._'

But to her pleasure, she opened the door to find an equally embarrassed Jack standing in front of her. They stared at each other awkwardly, neither speaking and both blushing a dark shade of red. That's when Jack decided to speak.

"Uhh, if you want, we can totally pretend that...that...you know...like" -

"Didn't happen?" Kate interrupted politely.

_'She looks so adorable when she is innocent.'_ Jack thought. _'Ugh, Jack, here you go again! STOP IT!'_

"Uhhh, yeah." Jack said with a nervous laugh.

"Okay, so let's start over. Uhh, I will stand in my room and you will knock on the door, and I will actually have some clothes on to greet you properly in." Kate said professionally.

_'You don't have to have the clothes on.'_ Jack thought._ 'Ugh, I sound so perverted. Hey, I'm a teenage guy, what do you expect?'_

"Okay." Jack smiled and laughed, receiving a giggle from Kate. He turned around and headed towards the stairs, stealing one last glance at Kate, before heading down.

-------------------------------------------------------

"I'm thinking pink."

"I don't know, you look like a green person."

"Or maybe purple."

"What about blue."

"Ohhhhh, sky blue! That sounds nice."

"What about yellow?"

Surprisingly, Jack and Kate were able to put the awkwardness of the morning behind them, and move onto the work they had to get done. They just finished putting the rags on the hardwood floor to protect the paint from getting on it. Now, they had out six different paint jugs, each a different color. They were trying to decide what color to paint the room.

Kate smiled at Jack. "Yellow sounds….. perfect."

Jack smiled back. "Well, now that we have finally picked a paint color, let's get started."

Jack carefully bent down and peeled the lid off the paint jug. They got out some rolling brushes and regular paint brushes and started painting Kate's room.

The yellow paint reminded Kate of lemons. She didn't know why, because it wasn't exactly the same color. If anything, it kind of looked like lemon juice, but the yellow of the paint was a very pale yellow. Kate remembered back in Iowa, she used to make lemon squares with her Mom, and then they would go to the market and sell them. And during the summer, when it got really hot out, they would make fresh squeezed lemonade, and set up a lemonade stand at the market. Lemon's reminded her of Iowa, and her Mom. Now, lemons surrounded her.

"Thinkin' about somethin'?" Jack asked curiously, but nicely.

"Yeah." Kate said softly. She paused, smiling sweetly at Jack. "Home."

Jack smiled warmly back at Kate. There was something about her. Maybe it was her personality. Or the way she spoke. Or the way she dressed. Or her posture. He didn't know. But there was something about her that to Jack, was absolutely, perfect.

"Can I ask you something?" Jack asked sweetly.

"Anything." Kate said back.

"How is it that a girl like you, all the way from Iowa, can move to LA, and adjust the way you did?" Jack laughed.

Kate laughed. She remembered the conversation with the photograph earlier that week. She smiled to herself, and then looked up at Jack.

"I took it in stride. I said to myself, "I am getting a chance to start my life over. I am going to take it and run with it. I don't mind change. I left all of my bad qualities and all of the bad memories in Iowa, and I brought everything positive and good here with me to LA." Kate said proudly.

Jack smiled at her.

"I like that." He said.

They continued painting the large walls of Kate's room, when they decided to take a break. Jack sat on a stack of boxes while Kate sat on top of her desk that was covered by a cloth.

"Let's play a game." Kate said, quite randomly.

Jack took a sip of water. "What kinda game?"

"21 questions." Kate said, smiling.

Jack laughed. He hadn't played 21 questions since last year, when he was at a party with a bunch of kids from school. It was at Sarah's house, so it was basically all of the cheerleaders and football players. Even though Jack was a football player, he didn't feel like he really fit in. His true friends weren't invited to the party because according to Sarah, they weren't 'cool enough'. Jack didn't want to go, but Claire, Charlie, Sayid, and Shannon forced him out the door. To this day, he still thinks it was so they could get information out of the 'popular people'.

"Okay." Jack said. "But that's usually a game people play at parties."

"I know, but we just met. It's basically a way of getting to know each other better." Kate said.

"Okay, I'll go first." Jack smiled and tried to think of a question. "What's your middle name?"

"Emily. What's your middle name?"

"Peter. What's your favorite band?"

"The Beatles. What's your favorite color?"

"Blue. What's your favorite food?"

"Chocolate. What's your favorite movie?"

"Pirates of the Caribbean. What's your favorite animal?"

"Horses. Who's your favorite celebrity?"

"Denzel Washington. What's your favorite school subject?"

"Math. What……"

And they continued on until the 21st question.

"Okay, last question for me …make it good." Kate joked.

Jack laughed. "Okay, if you could travel anywhere in the world, anywhere you wanted, where would it be?"

"Good question." Kate smiled, and then turned serious. "Heaven. I would go to heaven."

Jack just looked admiringly at her.

"Why?" he asked.

Kate giggled. "Hey, you asked your 21st question! That would be 22!"

Jack smiled back. "My bad." He laughed and then stood up.

He looked around at all of the walls, smiling proudly at their work.

"We work great together." He said, and then realized how weird that came out.

_'Pervert.'_ He thought.

Apparently, Kate didn't catch on. "Yep. We did great! The walls look amazing." She smiled at the room, and then back at Jack.

Something about her smile sent chills up his spine. That was something he had never felt. Never with anyone. Not even Sarah.

Kate walked over to the paint jug and looked into it.

"Wow, we even have paint to spare." She said surprised.

Jack walked over to where she was standing, and picked up the paint jug. He smiled at her and looked inside of it again.

"What are you " – Kate started but was cut off when jack spilt the container on top of her head.

Jack laughed so hard, Kate thought he might collapse from a lack of air, so she took advantage of the moment to grab the paintbrush, dip in the jug, and she dragged it across his face, and down his shirt.

Jack looked up at her, smiled, and spoke in a low tone.

"Oh. It's on."

Paint was flying everywhere. Tons of yellow paint. Thank God all of the furniture was covered, or else it would all be destroyed. Kate screamed when Jack poured more paint on her back, as he chased her around the room, the jug of paint firm in his hands. She jumped on top of the bed and threw a paintbrush at him, but missed. She jumped down and grabbed the roller paintbrush, still wet from the paint, and painted his entire face and T-shirt, getting his whole upper body soaked in paint. She was laughing and screaming so loud, someone probably could have called the police. Kate hadn't laughed this much in as long as she could remember. Neither had Jack. He hadn't had this much fun for years, and here he was, having the most fun of his life with a girl he just met six days ago.

Suddenly, Jack was half way through pouring more paint on Kate, when Sam walked into the room. The two teenagers froze. There was paint everywhere. And the most paint had to be on them. Sam looked around the room, and then at them. They were both standing on the bed, Kate getting ready to jump off and Jack ready to pour more paint on her.

Sam gave them a weird look and then spoke. "I don't care, but I ain't cleaning this up." And with that, he walked out.

Kate turned around and looked at Jack, who just gave her an innocent smile, and placed the paint jug gently on the floor, as they both jumped off the bed.

They both awkwardly sat on the furniture around them, a little uncomfortable from the wet paint sticking to their bodies. Kate couldn't get over how cute Jack looked with paint all over his body. Jack couldn't get over how cute Kate looked with paint stuck to her body. They both just stared at each other, smiling. They seemed to be doing that a lot lately. That's when Jack spoke.

"So, what's next?"

Kate giggled. "Hmmm, I haven't thought about that yet." She walked around the room, deciding what they should do next.

"Well, the paint has to dry for a couple of hours, so we can't move any furniture. I can show you some pictures and stuff, you know, if you want. If you don't want " – Kate rambled on but Jack stopped her.

"I'd love that." He smiled at her, and she smiled back, then looked down at the ground and blushed.

"…oh, and this one, I was like, 10 years old, and I went fishing with my friends Monica and Paul. Paul caught this huge fish!" Kate said excitedly, pointing to the next picture.

Jack just laughed at how excited and animated she got when she was excited about something. He loved learning about Kate. About her interests, her favorite things, about her childhood, her old home, her old friends. To him, everything about her was, simply, perfect.

"What about that one?" Jack asked, pointing to a picture.

Kate stiffened, and her smile turned to a frown, as she looked sadly at the picture. It was one of her and her Mom. They were in the park. They had just finished feeding all of the ducks, when Diane pulled out a disposable camera and took pictures of the both of them. They were both laughing and giggling. Kate wanted to cry, but she stayed strong, and spoke softly.

"That's…… that was my Mom."

Jack looked at her confused. _'Why was she living here with her Dad, when she had a Mom. Were they divorced? Or…._' He shuddered at the thought. '_Is her Mom…… dead?_'

Kate noticed the confused look on Jack's face and found that now was the best time to tell him. To tell him the truth.

"I think I should explain why I really moved." Kate said softly, looking at Jack.

Kate told Jack everything. Well, almost everything. She told him about Diane, and how she was diagnosed with Cancer. And how she was always in the hospital, so Kate had to take care of herself. She had to work at a diner to help pay for food and for her mother's medical bills. She was always home alone, and when she wasn't at school or at work, she was at the hospital with her mom. And then she told him about the phone call. The night that Diane died. And how she ran out, into the rain, and looked up into the sky, and prayed that somebody would save her. But she didn't tell Jack about him. That was something she had never told anyone. Not even her mother.

Jack was astonished. He just sat there, listening to Kate vent about her mother, and about all of her friends and family back in Iowa. And why she moved to LA. But he didn't zone out. He listened. Intently. To every sentence. Every word. She needed to tell someone about this. And she was telling him. Of all people. And he felt sad, yet special at the same time.

And that was when she broke down. And that was when he held her.

---------------------------------------

"Thank you so much again for coming over to help." Kate spoke genuinely.

It was 7:00pm, and Jack was getting ready to leave. The paint and eventually dried, so with some help from Sam, they moved all of Kate's furniture into her room. Sam then threw out his back, so Jack and Kate finished up the job while Sam iced his back downstairs. They then unpacked all of the boxes, full of everything from clothes, to books, to pictures, to pens and pencils. Jack learned more about Kate from every object he pulled out of a box. And with every object he pulled out, he felt that small chill up his spine. He liked that.

They were finally finished around five o'clock, so they just sat in her room, admiring their teamwork. The room looked brand new, with a new carpet in the middle of the room, all of the furniture in its right place, the bookshelves stacked, lamps and lights turned on, the t.v. tucked in the corner and the computer on her desk. It was perfect.

Sam and Kate then invited Jack to stay for dinner, so the three of them ate and talked about school and their friends and homecoming next week. Sam couldn't believe that Jack and Kate had known each other for less than a week, because they were acting like best friends.

7 o'clock came and Jack decided he should head home, so he said goodnight to Sam, and headed for the front door, when Kate caught up to him.

"Thank you so much again for coming over to help." Kate spoke genuinely.

"It was no problem. I'm glad I came." Jack said and smiled at Kate.

"Yeah….. I'm glad too." Kate blushed and looked down.

They walked out onto the porch and looked at each other again.

"I had a lot of fun today, Kate." Jack said softly.

"Yeah, me too. Today was….. perfect." Kate smiled and looked directly into Jack's eyes.

Jack just watched her admiringly, and then spoke.

"So, I'll call you tomorrow?" Jack asked, a little unsure.

Kate smiled. "That would be great."

"Great." Jack laughed.

Kate smiled at him again, and then leaned in. Jack thought she was going to kiss him, and his stomach did flips. But she wrapped her arms around him and gave him a big hug instead.

_'Well, this is good enough.'_ He thought.

They stood there hugging each other for what had to be about five minutes, until Kate pulled away and smiled warmly at him. She had never felt this way about someone before, it gave her chills. Good chills.

"So, I'll see you Monday then." Jack smiled.

"Yep, and I'll talk to you tomorrow." Kate smiled back.

"Great. Okay, I'll see you later." Jack finally said, and started walking home.

"Bye Jack." Kate said so softly, she wasn't sure if she could hear it herself.

There was no breeze in the air. But they both had goosebumps all over their bodies.

And neither wanted it any other way.


	8. Chapter 8: Jealousy

Eight

"Hey Jack! Wait up!!"

It was Wednesday, and there were only 2 days left until the Homecoming dance, which sent the whole student body into overdrive with trying to find a date for Friday. Charlie was trying to work up the courage to ask Claire all week, but every time he began talking to her, Shannon or Kate would walk up and interrupt them. The same went for Sayid. He really wanted to ask Shannon, and he wanted to ask her soon because he was afraid a football player would ask her. But every time he thought they were alone, someone would walk in on their conversation.

That left Jack. Jack had about seven girls, four of which were cheerleaders, come up to him and hint about the dance to him, but each and everyone he turned down. In the Jack form of dumping, of course, which meant he was extremely polite. His most common excuse so far was, 'Sorry, I'm not looking for a date.'

Of course this confused everyone, especially Kate. Jack could have any girl in the school that he wanted, and he was turning all of them down. And he wasn't only turning them down, he was flat out telling them, 'I don't want a date for the dance.'

Jack was walking down the corridors towards 3rd period when he heard someone call his name.

"Hey Jack! Wait up!!"

It was a female voice, but it wasn't Kate's. Jack had become so accustomed to Kate's voice, he could sense it from a mile away. He just loved everything about it. He loved hearing her speak. But this wasn't Kate's voice. Come to think of it, it wasn't Claire or Shannon's either. It was extremely fake and high pitched. To Jack, that could only mean one thing.

"Hey Sarah!" Jack said, with a hint of sarcasm in his voice.

"Hey Jack! What's up hun?" She asked in her squeaky tone.

Jack thought he was going to hurl.

"Uhh, nothing. Um, I was just heading to math, and I think I am gonna be late, so I gotta " - Jack started walking away, but was cut of by Sarah's hand on his arm, pulling him back.

"Oh, no need to rush Jack! All of your teachers love you! They won't mind if your a couple of minutes late." She said with way to much cheerfulness to be human.

Kate was walking down the hallway towards her locker, when she saw Jack. A smile crept onto her face. She loved seeing him, even if he didn't see her back. He was so handsome and genuine. She was so happy that he was one of her best friends. But then she saw a blonde girl walk up to him and start talking to him, twirling her hair around her finger.

_'Ugh, that must be Sarah...'_ Kate thought. _'She looks so fake. Jeez, talk about pancake make-up...'_

Kate stood against the wall behind a group of friends talking so nobody would see her spying on Jack and Sarah.

_'I feel so pathetic right now.'_ Kate thought to herself. _'Oh well.'_

She couldn't hear what they were saying, but their actions said it all. Jack was starting to walk away from her, when she placed her hand on his arm and pulled him back.

At that moment, Kate felt a flutter in her heart. But it wasn't a good flutter. Was it... jealousy?

_'Am I jealous of... HER?'_ Kate thought. _'No, I can't be... look at her! She is so fake. Or am I jealous of her around Jack.'_

That realization hit her. It hit her hard. Why was she jealous of Jack and other women. It's not like she owned Jack or anything. But then how come she felt a pang in her heart right now?

As she looked on, she saw Sarah stroking Jack's arm, and she saw her mouth moving really fast. The girl was obviously flirting. She had a huge grin on her face and was standing extremely close to Jack. Then, all of the sudden, her smile began to fade, and she didn't even look sad, she looked mad. Jack walked away with a smile on his face, leaving Sarah standing among the students, with a beet red face and a huge frown.

Kate didn't know what happened, but she felt somewhat happier right then and there. She knew that it was wrong to be happy at someone else's sorrow, but when someone that mean gets told off about anything, you can't feel anything but a little bit of happiness.

---------------------------------

Lunch finally came, and Kate walked out of Math with Sayid. They were heading to the cafeteria when Sayid spoke up.

"I like Shannon."

Kate stopped walking. She just stood there, staring blankly at Sayid. Sayid grabbed her arm and pulled her to the side of the hallway, so no one bumped into them or could hear them. Then, whispered in a low tone.

"I like Shannon." he repeated. He then took a deep breath, relieved to get it off of his chest.

Kate stuttered on her words. "Wh...wha...wait...uh...you...her...You like Shannon?"

She giggled, and then smiled wide, placing her hands on Sayid's shoulders and shaking him out of happiness.

"You like Shannon." This time, she said it as a statement. As a fact.

"I like Shannon." He repeated again. "I don't know when it happened, but for the last couple of weeks, every time I see her, I go weak in the knees. Sometimes, I am afraid I'm going to collapse."

Kate smiled at her friend and spoke supportively. "I'm so happy for you Sayid! You two are going to make a great couple!"

"Wait... there is one problem." Sayid said.

Kate looked confused. "What's that?"

Sayid took a defeated breath. "She doesn't know."

"Oh." that was all Kate said.

"I mean, Shannon is SHANNON. And I ... I'm me." Sayid said sadly.

"Don't say that! You ARE you! And there is NOTHING wrong with that! You are a great guy! Any girl would be lucky to have you." Kate said sweetly.

Sayid smiled and looked up. "Thanks Kate. You are truly a great friend."

Kate smiled back. "Just doin' my job. But if you want my advice..."

Sayid looked at her seriously.

"Tell her." Kate smiled. "You'll never know until you ask. Hey, she just may surprise you." And with that, Kate grabbed Sayid by the arm and pulled him along towards the cafeteria.

They made it to the cafeteria and saw Claire, Charlie, Jack, and Shannon sitting at the lunch table with a couple of other kids from their classes, so they made their way over. Sayid sat next to Shannon, Charlie and Claire sat across from each other, and Kate took her seat in between Claire and Jack.

"Hey." Jack greeted Kate warmly.

"Hey." She smiled back. "How's your day going?"

Jack flashed back to when he was talking to Sarah and three other girls about the dance. "Ugh. Tiring."

Kate laughed at his tone. "Tell me about it. I have so many assignments due tomorrow, and they were all assigned today! My teacher's are crazy."

"Well actually, my tiredness has nothing to do with school work, unlike you." Jack laughed. "It's all about the dance."

Kate's smile fell, but she corrected it quickly, hoping nobody noticed her disappointment. "Oh." Was all that Kate said, and everyone caught onto the sadness in Kate's voice.

She noticed everyone staring at her, and corrected herself, smiling back a Jack. "So, did you find a date yet?" She asked cheerfully. A little too cheerfully.

Jack looked at her with a confused look. "No…no, I haven't." he said confused and her mood change.

Kate found hope in his answer, but was still upset. "Oh, okay." Was all she said. Everyone was starring at her with confused expressions. She hated when people starred at her, so she acted on it.

"Umm, I'm just gonna go to the bathroom….I'll be right back." She said, and quickly got up and walked to the bathroom, leaving everyone stunned and confused at her strange behavior.

Claire didn't say anything, and just stood up and followed Kate towards the bathrooms.

Kate almost ran into the bathroom and into one of the stalls. Why was she acting like this? She was so confused at her own behavior that she didn't know what to do. So she cried.

Claire slowly walked into the bathroom, peeking around the corner to see if anyone was in there. She didn't see anyone, but she heard quiet sobs coming from one of the stalls. She bent down and saw a pair of flip-flops on two pale feet coming from one of the stalls.

"Oh honey." Claire said, and that was enough to get Kate to stumble out of the stall, and into Claire's open arms.

"Claire…" Kate said in between sobs, but Claire just held her close in a warm, comforting hug.

"Shhhhh-sh-sh…It's okay sweetie, it's okay." Claire said soothingly. "Everything is going to be alright…"

_"Everything is going to be alright."_

----------------------------

"I'm not normally like this, you know." Kate laughed, still recovering from her sobs.

Claire laughed lightly. "Don't worry hun, I believe you. We all just have our moments where everything just….. catches up to us."

"Yeah." Kate said softly.

Kate and Claire were sitting on the bathroom floor inside the girls bathroom, shoulder to shoulder up against the wall. It wasn't exactly sanitary, but they weren't ready to go back to the table yet. Claire held Kate in her arms for a good five minutes before she finally calmed down. Now she was trying to figure out why she broke down in the first place.

"It's weird." Kate began. "I just moved here. I've only been here for a week and a half, and I have already become best friends with the greatest people in the entire world, and here I am, sitting on the bathroom floor with one of them right now. Most new kids would be sitting at home, sobbing in bed because they HAVE no friends. I think I may just be the luckiest kid in the world."

Claire smiled at this. "Well, Kate, I am so glad I met you. I have only known you for a week and a half and here I am sitting with you on the bathroom floor during my free period, talking to you. And truthfully, I wouldn't want to be anywhere else."

Kate smiled and wrapped Claire in a big, warm hug. Back home, Kate didn't really have a best friend. She had lived there for 15 years, and she didn't have anyone to talk to on the phone about boys, nobody to have play-dates with, or go to the movies with. All of her friends were basically just acquaintances. Sure, she had Monica and Paul and other kids to hang out with, but they weren't anyone she could talk to about her problems. Kate's best friend had to be her mom. And when she was admitted to the hospital, Kate lost her best friend.

They pulled apart, and giggled at their surroundings.

"This is gross." Claire said, and they both laughed.

Kate looked at Claire and smiled. "Claire, can I ask you something?"

Claire looked at Kate. "Sure sweetie. What is it?"

Kate took a deep breath and looked down at the floor and then back up at Claire.

"Have you ever been jealous of someone else?"

---------------------------

"I saw them. Jack. And Sarah. They were talking in the hallway. This morning." Kate started. "I didn't hear what they were saying, but I assume it was about the dance."

Claire was listening intently to Kate confessing about why she was really upset.

"I think Jack turned her down, because he walked away and she looked pretty mad, but still, just the thought of her TALKING or TOUCHING him... it made me... ugh. I don't know. It was something I had never felt before. I... I was jealous." Kate confessed. "I was jealous. And that's why when Jack said lot's of girls were asking him to the dance... I... I just... I felt that pang again. I felt like I was going to throw up. And the weird part is, I have only known him for a week and... I think... I think..."

"You think what Kate?" Claire asked softly.

"I think I'm falling for him." She confessed. She let out a breath she didn't know she was holding, and repeated herself.

"I'm falling for Jack."

* * *

_hope you guys liked it _:)

_oh, and don't forget to **review**_ :) _i don't mind constructive criticism._

_thanks again for reading, guys _:)


	9. Chapter 9: The 'Right' Feeling

Nine

"Long day, huh?" Sam asked Kate while he poured her some more iced tea with her dinner.

For the rest of the day, Kate was pretty quiet. Actually, she was silent. The only person she said anything to was Claire, and now, her Dad. She had never been so confused in her life. How could she be falling for a boy she had only known for a little over a week? It didn't make sense. It was times like these, she needed someone to talk to. She had Claire, but Claire had done enough for her already. It would be too awkward to talk to Sam about it. And she wasn't extremely close with Shannon yet. There was no way she could call Sayid or Charlie. She really didn't have anyone to talk to. It was times like these… she wished her mom was alive.

"Yeah. Long day." Kate sighed.

Sam was concerned. He didn't know why Kate was acting so strange. She was awfully quiet, unlike her usually happy and perky self.

"You okay Katie?" Sam asked.

Kate looked up from her plate, where she was playing with her food in a childish manner. _'Should I tell him?_' She asked herself. _'Would he understand? What if he thinks I'm crazy?'_ She took a deep breath.

"Have you…..have you ever….felt…..ever….have…..have you ever felt feelings for someone, that you haven't known for a long time?" Kate asked nervously.

Sam looked at Kate sympathetically. He was about to speak, but she continued.

"I mean, what if you just met someone, but there is something about them….something…..different. Something that you have never seen before….something so rare…but so attracting and unforgettable at the same time? What if…..you think….you know…..your falling for someone. But you barely know them? Is that wrong?" Kate asked.

Sam could tell that Kate was extremely nervous and confused. She was going through a phase. But he knew exactly how she felt. It sounded somewhat…familiar.

"Katie." Sam started, and sat down at the table, directly across from Kate. Kate looked up at him shyly, even though it was her own father. It was an awkward situation and an even more awkward conversation for a father and daughter to have.

"Katie. I know how you feel. And I'm not just saying that cause I'm your father…. I've been there. Done that." Sam took a deep breath. "When…..when I first met your mother…she….. I was at the movies with some of my buddies. We… we were on the ticket line, paying for our tickets, when I saw a blonde girl digging through her pocketbook. She looked….distressed. So, I walked up to her…and I gave her some money for a ticket….." Sam shifted uncomfortably in his chair.

"She was…..beautiful." Sam said with a sigh. "There was something…so breathtaking about her. I could not believe I had never met her before. So….I offered to buy her ticket and some food, and we watched the movie together….and we were friends ever since." Sam smiled to himself. "Of course, we became more than friends and had you after high school was over, but from the moment I met her, I knew……I…. I felt something….a flutter in my heart. And the moment I saw her striking green eyes and shiny blonde hair, and her flawless beautiful face…….I was falling….."

Kate looked at her Dad admiringly. She knew how difficult it was to talk about Diane. For the both of them.

"And the more I got to know her, the more I learned about her, and the more I discovered the person she really was, the faster I fell. And the best part of falling…..of falling so fast?" Sam asked.

"There will always be that one person there to catch you."

-------------------------------

"Good morning students. Today is Thursday, September 27th. And now for today's announcements…." The PA blasted across the school.

All of the students sat in their homerooms, talking and chatting with each other quietly while the announcements blared in the background. Jack, Kate, Boone, and Michael sat together in their desks, chatting about school and football, when the class went silent. Everyone was listening to the PA.

"Attention all students!! It's that time of year!! Everyone grab a date and dance your way down to the Homecoming Dance!! It's tomorrow night!! If you don't have a date yet, get one now!! Tickets will be sold at the door, and food and refreshments will be available at the dance!! Dress nicely too! Girls, get some dresses, and guys, get some slacks!! It's one of the biggest events of the year! So guys! Grab a gal! Girls! Grab a guy! And dance your way down to BLHS tomorrow night, for a night to remember!!!"

That's when the class went into an uproar. "I need a date!" "Who are you going with?" "What should I wear!?!?!" "I'm going with Joey!" "Should I ask her?" "I need a dress!!!"

Jack, Kate, Boone, and Michael all looked at each other, when Jack spoke up.

"So, you guys have dates yet?" he asked.

"Yeah, I'm going with Sally, the red head from the cheer team." Michael spoke proudly.

"Boone, what about you?" Jack asked.

"I'm going with Theresa, she's another cheerleader. She is smokin…" Boone said dreamily.

Michael spoke up. "What about you Jack? Do you have a date?"

Jack looked down and blushed. "No…not yet…"

Boone and Michael starred at him as if he was wearing make-up and a blonde wig. Kate just looked down and thanked the lord to herself that he wasn't going with anyone. '_Why should I care who he is going with? It's not like he would ever ask me…'_ Kate thought to herself.

"Wait. Jack Shepherd is…._dateless_?" Boone asked, shocked.

"For now." Jack corrected. "I still have time."

Michael added in. "But Jack, I constantly hear girls saying that they asked you, and you turned them down. What, are you holdin out for someone special, Jack?"

Jack blushed and looked down, while Boone, Michael, and Kate starred him down.

The bell rang, signaling the end of homeroom, and everyone exited the class.

_'Saved by the bell.'_ Jack thought to himself.

"Yeah, saved by the bell, Jack, but we have some catching up to do later." Michael said to his friend.

"Catch you two later!" Boone chimed in.

"See ya!" Jack and Kate called back, and they started walking off to their classes together.

They walked close, and Kate thought she was going to explode from the constant rubbing their arms kept doing. It gave her chills. They were those good chills.

Ever since Sam's talk last night at the dinner table, Kate felt a little more comfortable with her confession to Claire. It was okay to like Jack. But she understood that he might not like her back. But just the thought that she wasn't crazy for having feelings for someone she didn't know for very long, was comforting on its own.

On the other hand, Jack was having an inner battle with himself.

_'Oh God. Oh God. Jack! This may be your last chance! Do it! Do it!_'

Jack looked down at Kate while they were walking through the hallways and put his hand on her shoulder.

"Jack, what's up?" Kate asked, when Jack pulled her off to the side of the hallway against some lockers.

_'This is it. This is it. Just do it.'_ Jack told himself.

"Kate….ummm." Jack started.

"Jack, are you okay? Is something wrong? Do I have something on my face?" Kate asked and Jack laughed.

"No… no. no. no. no…that's not it. Your face is perfect….i mean….well, it's always perfect, I like..….uh….." Jack stuttered, but he was interrupted by someone sprinting down the hallway screaming at the top of their lungs.

"SHE SAID YES!!!! BLOODY HELL, SHE SAID YES!!!!!!! OH GOD I AM GOING TO FAINT. BLOODY HELL…..CLAIRE SAID YES!! SHE SAID YES!!!!!!"

None other than Charlie. He was jumping up and down in front of Jack and Kate and some other people he didn't even know.

"Congrats Charlie!!!" Kate said, and gave him a huge hug, while Jack starred daggers into the back of Charlie's head.

_'I'm gonna kill him for this.'_ Jack thought to himself.

'WOO HOO!!!" Charlie yelled at the top of his lungs, and then ran off down the hallway singing to himself out of complete joy.

"Aww, isn't that sweet?! Look how happy he is!" Kate said adoringly.

_'Hehehe, how cute!'_ Jack thought to himself in a squeaky, sarcastic, sing-song voice.

Jack turned his attention back to Kate, who was still watching Charlie dance down the hallway.

"Uhh, Kate. Um, what I was going to ask you was….ummm." Jack stuttered.

Kate looked confused at Jack. He was stuttering. He was obviously nervous.

_'Just say it you imbecile!! You look like an idiot. Oh wait, you've been looking like that a lot recently!'_

Jack took a deep breath.

"Kate, would you like to go to the dance with me?"

_'You said it.'_

_'He said it!?'_

_'Thank God.'_

_'Oh God.'_

Kate stood frozen in her spot, just staring at Jack with a slightly open mouth.

_'Jack……Jack Shepherd just asked me to the dance. Holy cow.'_

_'Uh oh, she isn't saying anything…I knew it! She thinks I'm an idiot! Why would she wanna go with someone like me!?_'

_'Say something you idiot!'_

"I…I…..I would love to go to the dance with you….Jack Shepherd." Kate answered Jack was a broad smile.

_'Thank you my Lord.'_

_'Thank God.'_

Jack smiled broadly back and gave Kate a huge hug, while made her squeal out loud, out of surprise. His strong arm's wrapped around her petite body, and her arms wrapped around his neck, as they hugged each other.

They pulled apart and Jack spoke up.

"Great. Wow. Uh. Awesome!" Jack said, which made Kate giggle, and that made Jack melt.

Kate smiled at Jack. "I can't wait till tomorrow night now." She blushed and looked down.

"Me either." Jack said, letting out a breath he didn't know he was holding.

They both stared at each other, smiling like idiots when the bell rang.

_'Crap!'_

_'Crap!'_

"Uhh, I've gotta go…" Jack stuttered.

"Yeah…uh, me too…see you in lunch!" Kate shouted while walking towards her class.

"And in History!" Jack called as he walked the opposite way.

"And in History." Kate confirmed, practically running to her class.

"Bye Kate!!" Jack smiled.

"Bye Jack!!" Kate giggled.

Those chills that Jack and Kate had been getting recently? They were back.

And stronger than ever.

-----------------------------

"He asked you?!" Claire asked, obviously excited.

Kate couldn't concentrate in Chemistry or Math. All she could focus on was Jack. He had asked her to the dance. All of those girls he had turned down. All for her. Did that mean that Jack liked her? It didn't matter. Kate Austen was going to the Homecoming Dance with Jack Shepherd. And no one was going to stop her.

Kate stopped by her locker right before lunch, only to be greeted by an ecstatic Claire waiting for her. Kate knew about Charlie asking Claire to the dance, and how Claire had said yes. She also knew how much Claire liked Charlie. She was happy. Very happy.

"CLAIRE! OH MY GOD! I AM SO HAPPY FOR YOU!!! COME HERE!!!" Kate yelled and wrapped Claire into a huge hug. Kate was so happy for her best friend. She knew how much Claire liked Charlie, and after all Claire had done for her in the past two weeks, Kate couldn't feel anything but joy for her friend.

Claire pulled out of the hug, and placed her arms on Kate's shoulders.

"I thought I was going to collapse." Claire said, still shaking from the excitement.

Kate smiled at Claire's happiness.

"Claire, I am so so so happy for you. You have no idea." Kate said genuinely.

Claire smiled back.

"No, I think I have an idea." Claire giggled back.

Kate giggled and looked at Claire.

"I have some good news too."

Claire's face lit up with excitement, but she didn't want to jump to conclusions.

"What is it?" She asked, practically jumping up and down.

Kate took a deep breath and then smiled.

"Jack asked me to the dance."

Claire's jaw dropped to the ground, and she squealed so loud, Kate thought she would need a hearing aid.

"He asked you?!"

"Yep."

"OH MY GOD! KATE! OH MY GOODNESS! AHHHH!!!!" Claire was squealing so loud, Kate thought the walls were going to cave in on them. Claire then practically jumped on Kate and wrapped her in a big hug.

"Well, I guess you can say today is a good day." Claire said giggling.

Kate smiled over Claire's shoulder.

"Yeah. Today is…….. perfect."

* * *

_i hope you guys liked it _:)

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_thanks again for reading, guys _:)


	10. Chapter 10: One in a Million

Ten

"So, are you going to wear the dress you bought on Saturday?" Claire asked Kate while they walked towards the cafeteria.

Both Kate and Claire were in a dreamy state, both getting dates for the dance, and their dates being their "eye candy". But that didn't stop them from gossiping and chatting about the next night.

The past Sunday, the day after Jack came over and helped Kate with redoing her room, Claire, Shannon, and Kate went dress shopping, while the guys, Charlie, Sayid, Jack, and a couple of their friends went suit shopping. Claire and Shannon showed Kate the nicest dress shops in town, and they stopped in every single one. Kate didn't like dresses. In fact, she hated them. The only dress she would ever wear would be her wedding dress, if she even got married. To Kate, dress shopping was finding a dress that she could fit in, was comfortable, and covered enough of her body to be presentable in. To Shannon and Claire, it was way more than that.

They walked from shop to shop, looking for dresses, and while Kate had found a few dresses she liked, Shannon and Claire would not let her buy them. According to them, the dress had to be the right color to match your eyes, hair, and skin tone, and it had to be the right material. It had to be a certain length and the neckline had to be long enough to be what they called 'flattering'. They made their final stop at Claire and Shannon's favorite shop, Stella's. They walked in to be greeted by a lovely sale's associate and hundreds of drop dead gorgeous dresses.

Kate was about to pass out. Dress shopping was turning out to be more tiring than playing sports. Shannon, Claire, and the sale's lady, who's name was Barbara, made Kate try on over ten dresses. Kate walked out of the changing room in a royal blue dress to show the three girls.

"I think I actually like this one, what do you guys think?" Kate asked.

The girls were silent. Kate didn't know if it was a good thing or a bad thing.

The three girls looked at each other, and then back at Kate.

"No. No. No!!! No no no no….." Barbara said and walked over to a rack of dresses.

Kate looked at Barbara confused. She actually liked the dress and she thought they would like it too. 'I guess I have absolutely no taste in dresses.' Kate thought.

Barbara had disappeared into the backroom for five minutes before she came back out. She held a large, white box in her arms, and made her way back over to Kate. She had a smile on her face, which Kate took as a good thing.

Barbara looked down at the box and then up a Kate with a large smile on her face.

"This dress we have had for a long time. It is always the last resort because nobody ever either fits into it, or they just don't look good in it." Barbara continued. Claire and Shannon were excited to see the dress, but disappointed they couldn't try it on because they had already picked out their dresses.

Barbara spoke again. "It is a rare color. Probably my favorite color. But the style is different, and it has to be my favorite dress on the earth."

Kate smiled. She was touched that Barbara brought it out for her to try on.

"The minute you walked into the store, and I saw you, I had a feeling I was going to need to pull this dress out." Barbara smiled, and then handed Kate the box, still closed.

"Now, I want you to go try it on, and I don't want you to look in the mirror when you put it on. I want you to walk out of the dressing room and let us judge it first. I've made the mistake in the past of letting the women try it on, and the minute they look in the mirror, they either don't take it off because they don't want to, or they can't cause it's too tight."

All of the girls giggled, and Barbara grabbed Kate's shoulders and pushed her into the changing room.

"Remember Kate, no peeking!" Barbara called after her when she closed the door to the dressing room.

Claire, Shannon, and Barbara sat there for about a minute before Kate walked out. She had her eyes closed to ensure she wouldn't look in the mirror. All three girls gasped.

"Oh."

"My."

"God."

The three women stood up and circled around Kate, who's eyes were still closed shut. Kate was getting nervous. She didn't know if the silence she was hearing now was the same silence she heard with the last dress.

"Uh, can I open my eyes now?" Kate asked.

All she heard was silence, so she opened them, only to be greeted by the three girls standing in front of her, awestruck.

"Kate." Shannon gasped.

"Oh my God." Barbara was about to faint.

"Katherine Austen." Claire whispered.

"What, is there something wrong with it?" Kate asked nervously. That when the three girls broke out into laughter.

"Kate!" Shannon yelled. "There is no way that this dress could ever look bad on you."

"Never in my 21 years of working here have I ever sold this dress. Neither have I ever seen it look so flawless on a human being." Barbara whispered.

Kate blushed. She didn't even know what she looked like in it, since she didn't look in the mirror yet.

Claire noticed Kate's expression and laughed. "Kate, not even Miss America can top what you look like right now."

Kate laughed sarcastically. "Yeah, I'll believe it when I see it."

Barbara looked at Kate. "Then why don't you turn around and look at yourself in the mirror right now?"

Barbara took Kate by the shoulders and turned her around towards a mirror and pushed her closer. Kate didn't know why, but she had closed her eyes again.

"Now, open your eyes." Barbara said and let go of Kate.

Have you ever been in a situation, where you were speechless? Where you didn't know what to say. No words. Just, silence. You couldn't think, you couldn't speak. All you could do, was breathe. And stare. You brain shuts down. And you go into a trance. You have tunnel vision. All you can see, is what is ahead of you. Nothing else. All you can hear, is your heart. Beating. A mile a minute. And all you can feel, are small chills. They creep up your arms, up your spine, and around your neck. They take you hostage. And you go numb. But it beats every other feeling. It's an unbearable sensation. But it's so addicting. But it doesn't happen all of the time. And it is only in times like these, that we are left completely, truly, unforgettably, breathless.

Kate's mouth was slightly open. She didn't have any words. Nothing could describe what she was feeling. She starred into the mirror, at the dress that fit her body so perfectly. The color, so perfect. The material, the length, all perfect. Kate didn't know much about dresses, but she knew that this dress was one in a million. She knew that never in her life would she ever find one like it again. So she just starred into the mirror. Speechless.

"Kate. You look like a fricken goddess." Shannon said loudly.

They all laughed, except for Kate, who was still awestruck by the dress. She just stood in front of the mirror, Claire, Shannon, and Barbara surrounding her. That's when she spoke.

"It….It…..It's….perfect." She whispered.

Barbara smiled. "I knew it. I knew it!!"

The dress was made of silk, and went just past Kate's knees, stopping in the middle of her shins. It was a tank top dress, but the straps weren't too think to look tacky, and they weren't to thin to look skimpy. The neckline went down to the middle of her chest, where there was a small knot. The color was the best part. It was green. But not an ordinary green. It was a mix of a mint green and an emerald green. It wasn't olive, but it wasn't an apple green either. Barbara was right. It was rare. It was perfect.

Claire and Shannon chimed in at the same time. "You're so buying it!!!"

That's when Kate's smiled turned into a frown.

"Kate, what's wrong sweetie?" Barbara asked, concerned.

Kate looked down and then up at Barbara. "This dress, it's so perfect. It's so amazing, I want to cry just looking at it. And I never want to cry. But, it must cost a fortune. And I don't have the money right now. Not yet."

Barbara put a hand on Kate's arm and smiled. "Well, you may be surprised, but this dress is only selling for $50."

"What?!" Kate, Claire, and Shannon all said at once.

"Well, since nobody has ever bought it, it wouldn't be fair for the one person that actually looks good in it to have to pay a load of money to buy it. Jeez, they should be rewarded for even fitting into this thing." Barbara stated matter-of-factly.

Kate smiled broad in excitement. "Okay. Okay. I'll buy it."

All of the girls jumped up and squealed. They were more excited about the dress then Kate was. Well, at least they were showing it more.

"All right, let's ring all of these dresses up!" Barbara said enthusiastically, and all of the girls walked over to the counter except for Kate. She stood in front of the mirror, admiring the dress. It was gorgeous. Flawless. And she could wait to wear it. It didn't matter if she didn't have a date. She would go to the dance, wear the dress, and feel confident and proud in it.

And nobody was going to change that.

---------------------------

"So, are you going to wear the dress you bought on Saturday?"

"Of course I am. I wouldn't trade that dress for anything in the world." Kate said proudly.

They both smiled and walked through the cafeteria doors. They spotted Charlie and Jack sitting at their lunch table. They both looked at each other and squealed. They started giggling and made their way towards the table.

"Hey guys!" Charlie waved at them, and stood up to hug Claire.

"Hey Charlie." Claire said sweetly, and hugged him back strongly.

They pulled apart and smiled at each other. Charlie then stepped aside so Claire could take her seat. They both sat down and started talking about their days.

Jack stood up and looked at Kate. Kate smiled back at him. Then, he wrapped her in a big hug. She smiled over his shoulder, enjoying the feeling of his arms around her. He was so genuine. They pulled apart and smiled warmly at each other.

"Hey." Jack said warmly.

"Hey yourself." Kate said giggling. "How's your day going?"

They both sat down and started eating their lunch. But what they didn't know is that from the other side of the cafeteria, Sarah and the other cheerleaders were watching them.

"Wait." Sarah laughed. "Don't tell me that Jack Shepherd is going to the dance with….HER. Ugh, that little rat? Why would anyone even give her the time of day?"

They all laughed and giggled. Sarah then held up her hand and they all stopped.

"Well, only one thing is for sure." Sarah said. "I don't like her. And I will make sure as long as she is friends with Jack Shepherd, her days at BLHS are going to be miserable."

All of the cheerleaders started giggling again and gossiping about Kate.

"Jeez, I heard she's from Iowa." "A farm girl?" "I bet her best friend was a cow." "She has no friends. She's a total nerd." "Miss Harvard? What a loser!" "Total geek."

Sarah looked on at Jack and Kate as they talked and ate. Then, he put his arm around her and pulled her into a hug. Kate rested her head on his shoulder. Sarah thought she was going to explode. She felt a boil in her stomach.

"There's no way that Jack Shepherd and _'Kate'_ are going to the dance together." Sarah said out loud. "Not if I can help it."

Jack turned to Kate. "Hey, where's Sayid? Doesn't he usually walk with you here after Math?"

"Yeah, but today he said he had to go talk to someone." Kate answered Jack.

They both then looked across the table, and noticed that Shannon was gone too. Jack and Kate smiled and looked at each other.

"Are you thinking what I'm thinking?" Kate asked Jack.

Jack nodded his head yes. "I think someone is getting a date for the dance."

They both laughed and continued to eat their lunch.

-----------------------

Sayid walked down the hallway towards Shannon's locker. His heart was pounding and he was sweating. His breathing was shallow and he was getting dizzy.

'_This is it. The dance is tomorrow night. I'll be lucky if she doesn't even have a date yet.'_ Sayid thought to himself.

As he approached her locker, he saw her standing there, placing her books in and taking more out. She looked I her mirror to fix her hair, grabbed her lunch, and closed her locker, to be greeted by Sayid standing in front of her.

"Oh! Hey Sayid!" Shannon said, a little taken aback that he was standing right in front of her.

Sayid gulped. _'Do it! Just ask her!'_

"Hello Shannon." Sayid started and took a deep breath. "May I ask you a question?"

Shannon shook her head 'yes'. "Sure, what is it?"

"Uhh, would you…..umm, would you…" Sayid stuttered.

"Sayid, are you alright?" Shannon asked worried.

"Yes, um, I'm alright." Sayid answered and then calmed down. "I was wondering if you…."

"Sayid?" Shannon cut him off. "Are you asking me to the dance?"

Sayid let out a long breath. "Yes." He said exasperated.

Shannon squealed. "Ahhhhhhhh! Yay!!!! I was hoping you would ask…I mean, like, you….and I wanted….and….AHHHHHH!" Shannon jumped on Sayid and gave him a huge hug. Sayid smiled over her shoulder.

_'I was hoping you would ask…'_ He liked the sound of that.

"I was hoping you would say yes." Sayid whispered to himself.

Shannon pulled away and smiled broadly at Sayid.

"I can't wait!" Shannon squealed.

Sayid laughed. "Me either."

"I think we should get to lunch. They are going to be worrying where we went." Shannon giggled.

"Okay, may I take your hand as we make our way to the lunch room?" Sayid asked like a prince.

"Yes you may." Shannon said like a princess as she placed her hand delicately into Sayid's palm.

They smiled at each other and made their way to the cafeteria.

--------------------------

"He asked you!?!?" Claire and Kate screamed at the same time.

"Yup!" Shannon said proudly.

"Oh my gosh Shannon! I'm so happy for you!" Kate said and pulled her into a hug.

Shannon laughed. "Thanks Kate."

"Come here!" Claire yelled, and then wrapped Shannon in a hug.

They pulled apart and they all laughed.

"Wow, we all have dates this year!" Shannon said.

"And they are all guys we like!" Claire said proudly.

Shannon looked at Kate and then gasped.

"You like Jack?!"

Kate blushed and looked down, smiling at herself.

Shannon laughed. "I knew it!!! I knew it! Wow! Congrats Kate!"

"Thanks." Kate said shyly.

It was after school, and Claire, Kate, and Shannon were all in the art room. Kate and Claire were working on an extra credit project for art, while Shannon was just watching them and gossiping about other people.

"So, you guys excited for tomorrow?" Shannon asked.

"More than ever!" Claire squealed.

"Ditto." Kate answered, and they all laughed.

"So, who's house are we meeting at?" Kate asked.

Claire stood up and walked over to the sink to wash her hands. "Jack said we could all meet at his house. Well, that's what he told me this morning."

"Sweet." Shannon said. "So, do you know what time?"

"I guess we'll find out tomorrow." Claire answered, picking the paint out from under her nails.

"I, for one, am really, really excited!" Shannon said.

Kate got up to get more paint. "Me too. I get to wear my new dress. And I hate dresses." She laughed at herself. She was happy that she could wear a dress and actually feel good in it.

Shannon smiled. "Well, I am very happy for you! Jeez, I wish I could fit into that thing."

All three girls giggled. Kate loved this. She loved being able to hang out with people that she had common interests with, and have them be amazing friends. Her best friends. She loved the fact that her other best friend was taking her to the Homecoming Dance. Just a week ago, Kate thought she was going dateless, if she was even going. She was truly thankful.

"All right, I think I'm done for now." Claire concluded as she placed her project on the drying rack.

"Sweet. Kate, are you ready to go?" Shannon asked, standing up and grabbing her pocketbook and books.

"Not yet. But you guys go ahead, I might be here for another hour or so." Kate smiled at her friends.

"Alright. Are you sure? We can wait up." Claire said.

"No. I'll be fine. Thanks guys." Kate answered back.

"Alright, we'll see you tomorrow." Shannon said and walked out the door.

"Bye sweetie!" Claire called as she followed Shannon out the door.

"By guys!" Kate called back, and turned her attention back to her project.

She was working on her extra credit assignment. Her teacher, Miss Swan, offered an extra credit project to all of her students. You had to either draw or paint a picture of your favorite place to hang out. Claire was painting a picture of the mall. 'Typical Claire.' Kate thought to herself and smiled. Kate, on the other hand, was painting a picture of 'The Field.'

She knew she had only been there once since she moved 2 weeks ago, but she immediately fell in love with it. It reminded her so much of Iowa. Of home. Just the mountains, the river, the large open field. All of it. It was home.

Kate was also a talented artist, which helped her a lot with the project. Kate's favorite hobby besides playing sports was drawing. It was her way of relaxing. Of letting go. And her painting was stunning so far. She still had a lot to finish, but it was amazing. Every detail Kate remembered from the field was in the painting. She was as if she had a photographic memory.

It was awkwardly quiet in the room, so Kate went over to the stereo on top of the paint counter and turned on the radio. They were playing 'Home' by Chris Daughtry. It was one of Kate's favorite songs. She smiled to herself, and walked back to her table and continued painting.

_I'm staring out into the night,  
Trying to hide the pain.  
I'm going to the place where love  
And feeling good don't ever cost a thing.  
And the pain you feel's a different kind of pain._

Kate smiled at the lyrics. _'How ironic._' Kate thought. _'I'm sitting here, drawing a picture of something that reminds me of home, and the song is about remembering your home.' _A soft smile appeared on her face as she continued on her project.

_I'm going home,  
Back to the place where I belong,  
And where your love has always been enough for me.  
I'm not running from.  
No, I think you got me all wrong.  
I don't regret this life I chose for me.  
But these places and these faces are getting old  
So I'm going home.  
Well I'm going home._

She started to sing along with the lyrics. She didn't like singing in front of people. Not even humming. But nobody was there, so she started softly singing along with the lyrics.

_The miles are getting longer, it seems,  
The closer I get to you.  
I've not always been the best man or friend for you.  
But your love, remains true.  
And I don't know why.  
You always seem to give me another try._

Now she was singing louder. She wasn't even working on her project anymore. She just sat on the stool, singing freely, slightly rocking back and forth.

_So I'm going home,  
Back to the place where I belong,  
And where your love has always been enough for me.  
I'm not running from.  
No, I think you got me all wrong.  
I don't regret this life I chose for me.  
But these places and these faces are getting old._

_Be careful what you wish for,  
'Cause you just might get it all.  
You just might get it all,  
And then some you don't want.  
Be careful what you wish for,  
'Cause you just might get it all.  
You just might get it all, yeah._

_Oh, well I'm going home,  
Back to the place where I belong,  
And where your love has always been enough for me.  
I'm not running from.  
No, I think you got me all wrong.  
I don't regret this life I chose for me.  
But these places and these faces are getting old.  
I said these places and these faces are getting old.  
So I'm going home.  
I'm going home._

Kate smiled to herself. She loved that song. It was a perfect description of her life. She knew that one day, she would return home. To visit her relatives, her old friends. Her mom.

All of the sudden, she heard clapping. Slow, steady clapping. She turned her head to see Jack. He was leaning against the doorframe, with a soft, warm smile plastered on his face. He was staring into her eyes with an adoring look. And he was clapping. He had heard her. And he had seen her. Singing.

"Well. This is embarrassing." Kate said to Jack, and blushed a deep shade of red, looking down.

He looked down laughing, blushing a little bit himself, and walked into the art room. Kate raised her head up to look at him, a small grin still on her face.

"So….you're a straight A student, a math genius, a fantastic artist, and now, you're an amazing singer? What's next? Swallowing fire?" Jack teased Kate, making her laugh.

Kate blushed even darker and looked down at the floor while speaking. "So, what are you doing Jack, lingering the halls at 5:15 on a Thursday evening?"

Jack laughed looking down at the floor and then back up at Kate. "Football just ended and I had to run to the band room to get some papers for my coach."

"Your coach is the band teacher?" Kate asked, surprised.

"No, but he said he was down there earlier and accidentally left some papers on the band director's desk." Jack said.

Kate looked at Jack, and then at his hands. He didn't have any papers in his hands, or in his pockets. She eyed his suspiciously.

Jack noticed this and answered her immediately. "I was on my way there now, that's why I don't have them yet."

Kate smiled and giggled. "Oh, well I'm sorry if my horrid singing distracted you from performing your duties."

"Your singing isn't horrid, Kate." Jack said honestly. "It's beautiful."

Kate blushed and looked down. 'He knows how to make a girl feel good about herself, that's for sure.' She thought to herself.

"Sooo…whatcha workin' on?" Jack asked, peeking over at Kate's art project.

Kate sighed, speaking nonchalantly. "Oh, it's nothin, just an art project for extra credit."

"Mind if I see it?" Jack asked politely.

"Of course." Kate smiled, and Jack walked closer to the table to look at the picture.

Jack looked at the painting and his jaw hit the ground. It was stunning.

"Kate….Oh my…..Wow." Jack said speechless.

Kate looked at her painting with a wrinkled face. "You think?"

"I know!" Jack stated confidently, and then looked Kate in the eyes. "This is amazing, Kate."

"Well, thank you." Kate smiled to herself and then looked up at Jack.

He was standing right above her, as she sat on the tall stool. Her head reached up to around his nose, as he stood directly next to her. He looked into her eyes. Deeply. She looked back, with a mutual look. They were so close. Kate could feel his warm breath upon her face. It gave her those chills, again.

"So, do you want me to go help you with those papers?" Kate whispered.

Jack looked back at her. "No, I think I can get it. You continue with your project."

Kate smiled at him warmly and he smiled back.

"So, I'll see you tomorrow." Kate said, still speaking softly.

Jack smiled. Tomorrow was the dance.

"Yeah. I can't wait." Jack smiled at Kate.

"Yeah, me either." Kate answered back softly.

They just smiled at each other, starring at each other for a couple of seconds, before Jack started walking towards the door.

"Bye Kate."

Kate smiled and waved to Jack.

"Bye Jack."

He took one last glance at her and exited the room. When he was out, he let out a breath he didn't know he was holding. The truth? There were no papers. He saw Claire and Shannon walking out of the school and asked them where Kate was. He went directly to the art room and watched her sing along with the radio. She was absolutely…..beautiful. Everything about her was perfect.

Tomorrow was going to be a day to remember. Because Kate was his date for the dance.

And nobody was going to change that.


	11. Chapter 11: Shake your Groove Thing

Eleven

"THREE HOURS!!! THREE BLOODY HOURS!!!" Charlie screamed at Jack and Sayid as they walked home from school.

It was Friday, and the Homecoming Dance was finally here. The day had went smoothly, with every girl in the school either squealing from excitement, or pacing from nervousness. As for the guys, well, they were just excited.

The girls decided not to wait up for the guys after school, so they could all go to Kate's house to get ready. That left the guys to walk home after school by themselves, and it left Jack and Sayid to be tortured by Charlie's screaming.

"THREE HOURS!!! THREE BLOODY HOURS!!!"

Sayid and Jack looked at each other and rolled their eyes.

"Charlie, are you excited, or just really, really nervous?" Jack asked.

"Do you have to ask? I'm bloody BOTH!" Charlie screamed in Jack's ear, causing Jack to wince and cover it with his hand.

Sayid looked over at Charlie. "Charlie. You have absolutely nothing to be nervous about. It's just a dance."

Charlie looked over at Sayid as if he had twelve heads. "Just a dance? Bloody hell mate, you really need to get your priorities straightened out."

Sayid just rolled his eyes, and they continued walking towards Jack's house.

--------------------

_'Ding Dong. Ding Dong.'_

"I'll get it!" Sam yelled and walked over to the front door.

"Hello Shannon!" Sam greeted and opened the door wider for her to walk in.

"Hey Mr. Austen." Shannon said and smiled.

Sam smiled and pointed towards the stairs. "Kate and Claire are already upstairs. You can head on up."

"Thanks Mr. Austen!" Shannon smiled and ran up the stairs.

Shannon walked up the steps and onto the landing. She saw an open door and heard voices coming from it. She walked over to the room and her jaw hit the ground.

"Kate. This is your room?!" Shannon whispered.

"Oh! Hey Shannon!" Kate waved. Shannon slowly walked into the room, gazing around at all of it's glory.

"Kate, your room is fricken fantastic!" Shannon yelled, receiving a giggle from Kate and Claire.

"Well...thank you, I think." Kate answered. "Okay, come in!"

Shannon walked over and placed two large shopping bags on the bed.

"What are those?" Kate asked.

Shannon and Claire looked at each other, and Shannon reached into the bag, pulling out a brush and an eye pencil.

"Make-up!!!" Claire and Shannon said in unison.

Kate grimaced at the two large shopping bags. She didn't like make-up. She didn't even know how to put it on. Her mom never got to teach her. Claire noticed Kate's expression.

"Kate, are you okay?" Claire asked concerned.

"Yeah. Uh, it's kinda embarrassing, but, I don't know how to put on make-up. Nobody ever taught me." Kate blushed.

Claire and Shannon looked at each other and smiled, and then looked back at Kate.

"We can teach you how to put on make-up, Kate." Shannon said soothingly. "That's what best friends are for. They are there to help each other out and to keep their secrets too."

All three girls giggled, and then Shannon spoke up again.

"Well, let's get started, shall we?"

-----------------

"Alright. Let's see girls!" Sam called from the bottom of the stairs.

Claire stepped out first, and the unseen Shannon and Kate clapped and cheered. Claire was wearing a light blue dress, that had 3-D flowers stitched onto the top of it. The bottom was very flowing and went just past her knees. It had spaghetti straps that criss-crossed in the back. She left her wavy hair down, but placed the top half into an elegant bun. She stood at the top of the stairs, doing a little twirl, and then gracefully placed her hand on the railing, and began expertly walking down the stairs. Sam clapped when she reached the bottom, and she did a small curtsy for him.

"Alright, who's next?" Sam called.

Shannon stepped out on the landing so she was now visible, receiving cat calls from Claire and the still unseen Kate. Shannon was wearing a red silk dress. It came to just above her knee and had a ruffle skirt. The dress was tight, but with Shannon's tall and skinny frame, she pulled it off elegantly. It had a halter-top and a rhinestone pendant where the neckline met. Her hair was left down, but was very straight. She gracefully walked down the steps and curtsied for Sam like Claire had done.

"Alright Katie, you're up!" Sam called up the stairs.

Kate emerged from her hiding spot on the landing, and she looked as stunning as ever. She was wearing the green dress from Stella's. She had on a pair of silver sandals, but they weren't heels. They were basically dressy flip-flops. And she left her hair in its natural, curly state, but like Claire, placed the top half in an elegant clip. And her make-up was perfect. Just the tiniest bit to 'enhance her eyes and cheeks' as Shannon put it. She floated down the stairs, greeting Sam with a peck on the cheek and a bug hug.

Sam grabbed the camera and the three girls lined up in the living room, Claire on the left, Shannon in the middle, and Kate on the right. Sam took about ten pictures before deciding it was time to walk over to Jack's house with them to take even more pictures.

------------------

"Boys!! Your dates are here!!" Jack's mom, Margo, called up the stairs. She ran over to the door, to be greeted by the three stunning girls and Sam, all smiling widely at her.

"Oh, well, don't you girls just look marvelous!!!" Margo said sweetly, giving each of them a peck on the cheek. "Come in! Come in! BOYS!!!"

That was when Jack, Sayid, and Charlie emerged from the top of the stairs. They started heading down the stairs, when Jack stopped midway, causing Sayid and Charlie to collide into his back. He just stood there, staring at Kate. Which cued Sayid and Charlie to look where Jack was looking, seeing their dates. Sayid thought he was going to collapse, and Charlie wiped his mouth to check and see if he was drooling.

The three girls just stood at the front door, starring back at the guys.

_'Wow, they sure do clean up well.'_ Shannon thought.

_'Mmmm, nice tuxes guys.'_ Claire thought.

_'Could Jack get anymore handsome?'_ Kate thought.

Jack realized that he was starring, and continued down the stairs towards the girls.

"Wow. You look…wow." Jack said when he finally reached where Kate was standing. He was afraid he was going to pass out from her beauty.

Kate giggled. "You don't look bad yourself." They smiled at each other and blushed.

Sayid walked up to Shannon, taking her hand, and placing a small, delicate kiss on it. Shannon looked down at the floor and blushed. _'He's such a gentlemen.'_

Charlie walked up to Claire, took her hand, and twirled her around twice. "You look, absolutely, positively, stunning my darling."

Claire blushed and spoke. "You look very dashing, Charlie."

"Okay, pictures!!" Margo yelled, and all of the kids walked into the living room.

Charlie and Claire took their pictures first, then Said and Shannon, and finally, Jack and Kate. They took pictures of the guys giving the girls their flowers, and the girls placing the flowers on the guys jackets. Then, Sam and Margo took group pictures of the whole gang.

"Okay, that's enough pictures. Now get to that dance!" Sam laughed, ushering the kinds out the door.

"Have fun!" Margo called, and the kids all walked out the door. Charlie put his arm around Claire's shoulder, Sayid linked his arm with Shannon's, and Jack took Kate's hand, holding it tightly as they made their way towards the dance.

------------

"Wow."

"Oh my God."

"Jeez!"

"Bloody hell!"

"……."

"Ahhh!"

The gang walked into the cafeteria, to be greeted by the gorgeous decorations and party lights. A disco ball was suspended from the ceiling, and tons of colorful, bright lights were shinning throughout the café. If they were blind folded and brought here, they would never guess it was their school cafeteria.

"Ohh! Food!" Charlie yelled, and ran over towards where the food was being served.

Claire rolled her eyes. "I'll catch you guys later." And she walked over to where Charlie was already stuffing his face.

Shannon squealed. "Oh my God! I love this song! Sayid, come dance with me?"

Sayid smiled. "Of course." He took her hand, and they walked over towards the dance floor and started dancing.

Kate looked at Jack and smiled. Jack looked down at her and laughed.

"So….." Jack started.

Kate giggled. "So."

Jack smiled at her. "Would you like to dance with me?" Jack offered his hand to Kate.

"It would make my world." Kate smiled and placed her palm in his hand, as he guided her over to the dance floor.

They were dancing to some regular party music, nothing exciting yet, but music good enough to dance to before Kate spoke.

"I'm sorry if my dancing isn't exactly grade A." She blushed.

Jack laughed and looked her in the eyes. "Kate, you're a wonderful dancer. You're wonderful at everything you do."

Kate blushed and looked down.

"I'll be right back. I'm kinda thirsty." Kate said, and started to walk away, when Jack grabbed her arm.

"Hey. I'll come with." Jack flashed her a smile, and she returned it gracefully.

"Charlie, I'm afraid you might throw up if you don't stop eating." Claire laughed at Charlie, stuffing his face with mini pizza bagels.

"Well, I kinda saved my appetite for tonight, since I heard there would be food here." Charlie said with a mouth full, making Claire giggle.

Charlie smiled. "But….if you wouldn't mind, I'd like to have a dance with my lovely lady." Charlie said, offering his hand to Claire.

"I'd love that." She replied, and they made their way to the dance floor.

Kate was getting some water, while Jack was talking to a friend of his from the football team. Jack looked at Kate and pointed to her. Kate was confused, but then saw his friend looking at her too. Jack waved at Kate to come over, and she did.

"Gavin, this is my date, Kate." Jack said introducing the two.

Kate smiled. "Hi." She said, shaking his hand.

"Hey." Gavin said back.

Jack spoke. "Gavin is a junior on the football team. He plays defense."

"Very impressive." Kate said politely, not really knowing what else to say.

The three of them stood there talking, when Sarah walked up from behind Gavin, resting her hand on his shoulder, whispering in his ear.

_'Ugh.'_ Kate thought to herself.

_'Crap.'_ Jack thought to himself.

Sarah looked up from Gavin to see Jack and Kate starring at her.

"Oh my Goodness, Jack! It's so good to see you!" Sarah yelled, shoving Gavin away and wrapping Jack in a big hug.

Kate felt that pang in her heart again, but it was soon replaced with happiness when she saw the look Jack was giving her over Sarah's shoulder. It basically read, _'Kill me now.'_

Sarah pulled out of the hug and gave Jack a peck on the cheek, smiling brightly at him. Too brightly. She then looked over at Kate, and her face fell from a smile to a scowl. She quickly replaced it, hoping nobody noticed, and spoke.

"Oh…I'm sorry! I don't think we have met. I'm Sarah! What's your name?" Sarah said in a high pitched fake voice.

"I'm Kate. Kate Austen." Kate said, starring at Sarah.

"Oh, are you new here?!" Sarah asked, already knowing the answer.

Kate bit her tongue from accidentally saying something she would regret, and spoke. "Yes. I just moved here two weeks ago."

Sarah smiled, and stuck out her hand for Kate to shake. "Well, it is just fantastic to meet you!!!"

Kate unenthusiastically took Sarah's hand and shook it. Sarah spoke again.

"So, do you know Jack?" Sarah asked.

_'Oh come on!'_ Kate thought to herself, but Jack speaking cut her out of her thoughts.

"She's my date." Jack spoke confidently, putting his arm around her shoulders.

Sarah scowled at Kate and spoke again. "Oh, isn't that sweet! Jack Shepherd looking out for the new student. Always the hero, aren't we Jack?"

Kate's heart practically stopped and she felt the tears welling up in her eyes, but Jack spoke again, cutting her off from potentially throwing Sarah's head into the punch bowl.

"Actually, I asked her to the dance because I happen to really like her." Jack said confidently.

Kate felt a flutter in her heart. But this time, it was a good flutter.

Sarah scowled again, and turned towards Gavin. "So, would you like to go dance?" She grabbed his arm, pulling him to the dance floor, but passed Kate a death glance on her way.

Kat didn't back down, and starred Sarah cold in the eyes.

When they were gone, Jack looked at Kate with an exasperated look, and then pointed towards Sarah.

"Now…that….that equals annoying." Jack said, making Kate giggle.

The DJ was playing "Buttercup" and Shannon and Sayid were dancing in the large group of students.

"I love this song!!" Shannon yelled.

"What?!" Sayid asked.

"I said, I love this song!!!" Shannon yelled louder.

Sayid shook his head no. "What?!"

"I LOVE…..OH FORGET IT!" Shannon laughed and Sayid and they continued dancing.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

Jack and Kate were standing on the side drinking water when Jack saw another friend from his football team waving him over.

Jack looked at Kate. "Hey. I'll be right back, okay?"

Kate smiled. "Yeah, sure!"

Jack smiled and quickly hugged Kate before making his way over to his other friends.

Kate got those chills again, and they felt amazing. It was only a hug, and it gave her chills. It made her feel even happier than she already was. She smiled softly to herself, and turned around to get more water. But when she reached for a new cup, she accidentally knocked a stack over, and they scattered across the floor.

_'Ugh.'_ Kate thought, and bent over to pick them up.

She didn't know it, but Sarah and the other cheerleaders were behind her, watching her every move.

"Now." Sarah whispered, and one of the girls grabbed the punch bowl, and placed it in Sarah's hands. They slowly walked over to Kate, quietly so she wouldn't hear them coming. Then, Sarah mouthed with her lips:

_'One….two…THREE!'_

But as Sarah bent over to pour the punch all over Kate, Kate stood up from picking up the plastic cups, and her back crashed into the bottom of the punch bowl, causing it to turn and spill…. All. Over. Sarah.

"AHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!" Sarah screamed so loud, everyone eating food turned to look at her. And even more to her dismay, they laughed at her.

Kate's jaw was on the floor, and she bit her tongue to keep her from laughing. She covered it up by speaking.

"Oh my God, I am so sorry!!!!!!" Kate said and placed her hands over her mouth to make it look like she was utterly shocked.

"Save it Austen!" Sarah yelled. "We'll get you back. You just wait."

And with that, Sarah and the other cheerleaders ran over in the direction of the bathrooms.

Kate let out a small giggle and couldn't contain her smile any longer. Jack walked over, putting a hand on Kate's shoulder and doubling over in laughter. Kate smiled at Jack and turned towards him, leaning down to reach his face.

"I didn't mean to do it." Kate laughed. "But it felt amazing. Well, except for the bruise I probably have on my back right now. But it was definitely worth it."

Jack stood up and smiled at Kate. She was truly amazing. They stood there just looking at each other until the DJ's voice came over the loud speaker.

"Hey guys and gals! I hope you're all havin' a fantastic evenin', But right now, guys, grab you dates and come out onto the dance floor for our couples dance!"

The music to 'Just the Way You Are' by Billy Joel filled the room, and couples started to form on the dance floor.

Jack looked at Kate, who was just starring ahead of her. At nothing. She had a distant look in her eye, like she was remembering something. But before he could absorb it, she looked up at him and smiled softly.

_'She's beautiful.'_ Jack thought.

It was weird. You wouldn't think that knowing someone after two weeks, that you could officially say that you were falling for them. The most you could really say was that they were cute, but not as extreme as beautiful. They were attractive, but not more than stunning. And they couldn't possibly be perfect. But this was different. To Jack, Kate was different. She was one in a million.

Jack smiled warmly at Kate, and offered his hand to her. "May I have this dance?"

Kate smiled warmly back at Jack, and placed the palm of her hand delicately into his. "Of course you may."

_Don't go changing, to try and please me,  
You never let me down before,  
Don't imagine, you're too familiar,  
And I don't see you anymore._

They walked out onto the dance floor, hand in hand. Kate's heart was beating a mile a minute, but she remained graceful. Jack's heart was pounding, and he was praying he didn't make an idiot of himself.

_I would not leave you, in times of trouble,  
We never could have come this far,  
I took the good times, I'll take the bad times,  
I'll take you just the way you are._

They reached the middle of the dance floor, and they turned towards each other. They hesitated at first, both a little unsure of where to placed their arms. Kate placed her hands on Jack's shoulders, while Jack gently held his arms around Kate's waist. They smoothly swayed back and forth, both enjoying the music and the feeling of the other's arms around them.

_Don't go trying, some new fashion,  
Don't change the color of your hair,  
You always have my, unspoken passion,  
Although I might not seem to care._

Jack turned his head to see Charlie and Claire, dancing together. Their foreheads were touching and they were standing closer than most of the couples on the dance floor. Jack then saw Sayid and Shannon dancing together. Sayid was talking quietly, and whatever he was saying, he was making Shannon giggle and blush at the same time.

_I don't want clever, conversation,  
I never want to work that hard,  
I just want someone, that I can talk to,  
I want you just the way you are._

Jack turned his attention back to Kate, who was looking at him, admiringly. He smiled a warm smile at her, and she smiled back at him. She then wrapped her arms around his neck and stepped closer, resting her head on his shoulder, just under his neck. They were like pieces of a puzzle. They fit perfectly.

_I need to know that you will always be  
The same old someone that I knew,  
What will it take till you believe in me,  
The way that I believe in you?_

In the distance, Sarah was dancing with Gavin, but they were standing awkwardly far apart since Sarah's dress was still wet from the fruit punch. She was scowling at Jack and Kate. They looked so perfect together. And he acted so genuine and caring towards Kate. How come he never acted that way around her?

_I said I love you, and that's forever,  
And this I promise from the heart,  
I couldn't love you, any better,  
I love you just the way you are._

Jack looked up from Kate to see Charlie and Claire softly kissing. They were just under the disco ball, the light illuminating their features. He wanted to tell Kate, but she looked so peaceful, standing there in his arms, that he didn't bother.

_I don't want clever, conversation,  
I never want to work that hard,  
I just want someone, that I can talk to,  
I want you just the way you are._

The music softly ended and everyone stopped dancing. Jack looked at Kate. She smiled back. 'God, I love that smile.' He thought. Then, all of the sudden, the music went back on, and they were playing 'It's Raining Men.' Everyone started screaming, and broke out into crazy dance moves.

Kate and Jack just looked at each other and started laughing, before they started dancing again. Charlie, Claire, Shannon, and Sayid made their way over to Jack and Kate for the first time that night, and they danced together as a group.

"FOR THE FIRST TIME IN HISTORY, IT'S GONNA START RAININ MEN!" the girls screamed, singing and dancing uncontrollably.

"IT'S RAININ MEN!" the whole cafeteria sang together. Everyone was laughing and giggling.

A few songs later, they had danced through the favorites, like the YMCA, the hand jive, the cha cha slide, jump on it – in which everyone got to see Charlie's dramatic dance moves – and some old favorites like the Spice Girls and the Backstreet Boys.

It was 11:30 and they had made it to the final song. 'Let's Dance.'

Everyone got up to dance. The kids sitting on the side who didn't have any dates got up to dance. Even the teacher's who were chaperones were dancing with each other. Jack and Kate glanced at each other while dancing and laughing, softly smiling at each other before looking back at their friends.

It truly was a night to remember.

-------------------

"So, we'll be seeing you two tomorrow morning on the field, getting us the gold, right mates?!" Charlie said enthusiastically to Jack and Sayid.

"Yeah, you will." They said in unison, causing everyone to break out into laughter.

They were standing on the corner of their street, all saying goodbye to each other before they walked their dates home.

"Oh, I'm so excited!" Claire squealed, and then looked at Kate, who smiled but looked a little confused.

"Oh Kate, trust us, it is one of the best events of the year. Hands down." Claire said confidently.

Kate laughed. "Well, if it is better than tonight was, then I'm in." She laughed and then stole a glance a Jack, who blushed.

"Alright, we should get going, see you all tomorrow morning!!" Sayid said, and then lead Shannon away by placing his hand on her waist.

"Bye! Yeah, we're gonna get going too." Charlie said, pointing to himself and Claire.

Kate smiled and stepped forward, hugging both Charlie and Claire. "I had so much fun tonight guys. Thanks for being there."

Claire 'awwwwwww'ed and Charlie just laughed. They pulled apart, and waved goodbye.

Jack looked a Kate and smiled, extending his arm out. "May I have your arm, miss?"

Kate smiled and linked her arm with his. "Of course."

They walked silently down the concrete sidewalk, the streetlights illuminating their features. Kate rested her head on his shoulder, and he moved his arm to wrap it around her shoulders.

They walked to Kate's house, up the stone path and up onto the porch, where a light hung above them, the only thing other than the moonlight that illuminated the nights sky. The front door was closed and all of the house lights were off, except for the living room lamp, which sat on the windowsill.

Kate pulled her head off Jack's shoulder, and turned to face him under the lamp on the porch. The light reflected off his chocolate brown eyes, making them glow like never before. She thought she was about to melt. She didn't even know it, but she was smiling. At him.

Jack spoke. "Kate. I...I had fun tonight." He looked down and blushed. "A lot of fun, actually." he looked back up into Kate's emerald green eyes, and found the power to finish his sentence. "I wouldn't have wanted to spend the night with any other girl in that cafeteria, because...because none of them could ever be...as...stunning, and amazing, and beautiful, and...as perfect as you are."

Kate wasn't smiling anymore. Her mouth was slightly open from a mixture of shock, happiness, and adoration. Her heart was beating faster than ever before. She had butterflies in her stomach.

Kate whispered. "Jack..."

But she was cut off when he wrapped his arms around her, into a tight, warm, caring hug. She buried her head into the crook of his neck, and wrapped her arms around his waist. It felt amazing in his arms. His strong, warm, protective arms. She felt...safe. And safe wasn't something she was used to feeling.

They stayed wrapped in their hug for about two minutes, before Jack pulled away. His hands slid down to her waist, and she placed her hands on his arms.

"Jack Shepherd. You are...undescribable." Kate whispered. "There isn't one word to describe you. There are a million. There are a million words to describe you, but you...you are one in a million."

God he wanted to kiss her. But he knew he couldn't. It was too soon. He knew that when he did kiss her, one day, that he wanted it to be special. He wanted it to mean something. More than just two sets of lips connecting.

Kate continued. "And the craziest part. The craziest part is, I just met you. And I already know that we will be best friends forever." Kate looked down and giggled. "And I know it sounds totally cliche, but it's true. I've never felt this way before. And I know it must be awkward for you to hear, but I feel something when I'm around you. You bring out the best in me." Kate took a deep breath. "And I'm sorry if I freak out and you want to run away from me, but...but..."

"I won't ever run away from you." Jack interrupted her softly. "Remember that."

Kate smiled at him, and then looked down at the porch.

"Well, how about this." Jack started. "Tomorrow. At the football game, when I hold up my index finger, like this..." Jack demonstrated to Kate by holding his index finger high in the air. "...It will be my salute to you. Like a way of saying hi, but not exactly saying it."

Kate smiled. "I'd love that."

"Great." Jack said, and looked down at his watch. "I think I should head home now."

Kate smiled at him. "Okay, of course...yeah. I'll see you tomorrow then."

Jack smiled. "Remember..." Jack put up his index finger.

Kate laughed, and put up her index finger, mirroring his action.

"Goodnight Kate."

"Goodnight Jack."

Jack smiled, took his hand, and tucked a stray curl behind Kate's ear, and walked off the porch back to his house.

Kate watched him the whole way, smiling to herself, the heat from his hand still lingering on the right side of her face.

When he made it home, she opened her door, closing it behind her, and leaned against it. She slowly slid down till she sat on the floor, back against the door, and she smiled to herself, placing her hand on her cheek where Jack's had been. She then whispered to herself.

"He truly is one in a million."


	12. Chapter 12: And then there was Jack

Twelve

"Charlie!!" Claire, Kate, and Shannon yelled at Charlie in unison, as he ran over to the field house where they were selling food for the crowd.

It was Saturday morning, and Kate, Claire, Shannon, and Charlie all walked to the football field together. Homecoming was finally here. As the gang entered the parking lot, Kate's jaw hit the ground. Balloons, streamers, confetti, flags of green and yellow were seen everywhere. The parking lot was packed, full of students, parents, and residents of their town. All of the cars were spray painted in green and yellow, all with quotation's such as "Yeah Wildcats!" or "BLHS!!". Claire was right; Homecoming WAS the event of the year.

As they approached the gates, Charlie smelled smoke and charcoal. He immediately screamed, running towards the field house, where they were selling hot dogs and hamburgers and other food.

"Charlie!!" The girls all yelled after Charlie, but he was gone into a world of foods galore.

Claire sighed. "Oh well, we'll see him later. Let's go get a good seat while they're still available!"

The girls all nodded and they made their way through the gate and up into the metal bleachers.

"Oh, there!" Shannon pointed to a spot, directly in the middle of the bleachers, not too far back so they could actually see. The three girls all sat down and they had the perfect view.

"Good eye Shan!" Claire smiled and laughed, and then looked down to see Charlie walking up the bleachers towards them, carrying tons of food.

"So, I thought you ladies might work up an appetite from cheering so much, so I decided to spare you all and bought you food." Charlie spoke confidently, passing the sodas down the row towards the girls.

"Aww, thanks Charlie! That was so thoughtful!" Kate said and gave Charlie a hug.

Charlie smiled and laughed. "Oh, just being a manly man."

All of the girls starred at him with blank faces, and Charlie spoke again. "...Maaaaybe not..." And then quickly took his seat next to Claire.

The announcer then came over the loudspeaker and the crowd cheered uncontrollably. The announcer then spoke.

"Ladies and Gentlemen!!! Welcome to the annual Benjamin Lynch High School Homecoming Football Game!!!"

The crowd went into an uproar and everyone jumped from their seats.

"Now, we would like to welcome the BLHS cheerleaders!!" The announcer spoke enthusiastically, and the crowd jumped and cheered even more. Well, most of the crowd at least.

"And now, we would like to introduce the BLHS football team!"

That's when the crowd went crazy.

"First up, number 23, Danny Marcus! Your football team Captain!" Then, from behind a banner with the number 23 painted on it, came a tall, muscular boy, throwing his hands in the air, sending the crowd wild.

"Neeeeext up! Number 17, Paul Read! Co-Captain!" This was followed by a boy running through a banner painted with the number 17. The crowd went even more wild this time, but suddenly, the boy then tripped over his own foot, causing him to fall and roll over. The crowd gasped and screamed. But Paul stood up quickly and threw his hands in the air, and the crowd cheered again.

Kate, Charlie, Claire, and Shannon all looked at each other and started giggling at the silly fall.

"Next up! Second Co-Captain! Number 53, Gavin Murphy!" Then, Sarah's date from the dance came crashing through his banner, receiving catcalls from all of the cheerleaders and an even bigger uproar from the crowd.

Two cheerleaders pulled out the last banner which had the number 5 on it. When the crowd saw the number, they went crazy. But it wasn't crazy like the other players. This was insane.

The announcer spoke through the microphone. "And our final Co-Captain, last years rookie of the year and one of this years quarterback's, Number 5!!!! Jack Shepherd!!!!"

The crowd went insane as Jack ran through the banner. All of the cheerleaders squealed and jumped in the air, hoping to catch his attention. He had that 'Jack smile' on. The shy, embarrassed one, but it still held its confidence. But all of the sudden, in the middle of the crowds uproar, he stuck his index finger in the air. The crowd took it has a signal to cheer more, but one person in that crowd knew that it meant something more.

Kate smiled to herself.

_'He remembered.'_

---------------------------------

The game had started and BLHS was already ahead. 7-0.

And they were only three minutes into the game.

And none other than Jack had scored the touchdown.

It was strange seeing Jack as a football player. Kate knew Jack as a gentle, soft, caring boy. Here, she was watching him tear up the field, tackling people and running around like an animal.

To Kate, it was pretty amusing.

Coach Sanders had called a time out, and the boys all ran over to the side of the field and huddled together. The crowd cheered as all of the boys came closer to the bleachers.

"Yeah Sayid!!!" Shannon screamed down to the field. Sayid looked up into the bleachers, looking around, and finally saw Shannon, smiled, and waved at her.

Claire turned towards Kate. "Kate, you should cheer for Jack. Show all of the girls here he's yours." Claire giggled.

Kate blushed and looked at Claire. "He isn't….mine. I don't own him. I mean, we're not even dating. We just went to the dance together." She said nonchalantly.

Claire rolled her eyes, and looked down towards the huddle on the field. "Yeah, not yet you're not dating……"

Kate rolled her eyes in response and followed Claire's eyes to the field, where she spotted Jack. A small blush creeped up on her cheeks. He didn't even see her, but she still felt something, every time she just…..LOOKED at him.

All of the sudden, Jack looked up, and it wasn't just to a random spot, it was directly at Kate. She took a sharp intake of breath, and smiled warmly down at him. He smiled broadly back, lightly laughing, and held up his index finger.

She returned the gesture by mirroring his action, and holding her index finger up as well. He laughed and then winked at her. She just giggled, and Jack looked back towards Coach Sanders that was telling them what to do for the next play.

She couldn't believe the effect he had on her. It was…indescribable. Never in her life, had she felt this way about anyone or anything. It was scary, but extremely satisfying at the same time.

It was half time, and the game was now tied. 14-14. They had scored again, this time with Danny, the captain, but one of the offense players from BLHS took a hard fall, so Sanders took him out and put in a less experienced player. That's when Longwood scored two touchdowns, much to everyone's disappointment.

The boys went into the locker room, while the marching band and the cheerleaders walked onto the football field.

The cheerleaders took their positions on the mats, and the music started. 'Maneater' by Nelly Furtado started playing, and the girls started their routine. The crowd went wild.

"I love this song!!" Shannon screamed, and Charlie starred at her.

"Shannon, I thought you hated cheerleaders?"

"I hate cheerleaders, but I LOVE this song!" Shannon yelled back.

Kate had to admit, they looked decent. Not everything was that great, but it was better than she expected it to be.

All of the sudden, the cheerleaders lifted Sarah into the air, in the middle of what was going on. She stood there as the crowd went crazy. She didn't even do anything. All she did was flash her fake, white smile while all the guys in the crowd drooled over her.

_'Ugh. She isn't even doing anything people!'_ Kate thought, and rolled her eyes.

But all of the sudden, Sarah lost her balance, and she fell into the arms of the other cheerleaders, screaming all the way down. Once she landed, she screamed at the other girls, ruining the entire routine. The music was still playing, and there was Sarah, screaming and pointing at the other girls. The crowd went silent, and a few people started laughing. Including Kate.

Sarah stormed off, and all of the other cheerleaders followed, as the music continued to play in the background.

The crowd broke out into laughter as the announcer came on over the loudspeaker.

"Wellllllllll…..okay then. Now we have the BLHS marching band!"

Everyone clapped as the band came marching onto the field. Kate, Claire, Shannon, and Charlie all looked at each other and laughed.

"The poor girl can't get a break, can she?" Claire said, giggling.

---------------------

It was the beginning of the 4th quarter, and then game was tied again, 21-21. Each team scored another touchdown. And Sayid was the one who scored it for the wildcats.

Shannon had gone crazy, screaming. " MY HONEY SCORED A TOUCHDOWN!!!! SAYID!!!! HE SCORED A FRICKEN TOUCHDOWN!!! AHHHH!!!!!!!"

Charlie looked at Shannon with a confused look. "Honey? Blackmail!!!!!" She didn't even hear him, because all she was focused on was Sayid.

Kate could tell Coach Sanders was getting nervous. Longwood was one of the best teams in the state, apart from BLHS. And BLHS always missed out on the playoffs because of them. If they could just beat Longwood, it would be smooth sailing into the playoffs. So Sanders was putting the pressure onto his best players: Danny, Gavin, Paul, and Jack.

Every time that Jack wasn't playing on the field, Sanders was yelling at him to 'Get you head in the game' or 'Don't disappoint me son'.

Kate could also tell that Jack was nervous. Partly because Sanders was putting most of the weight on his shoulders. But also because his father was there.

Jack was in the middle of playing, when he glanced at the crowd and saw his father, standing at the top of the bleachers, clapping his hands. He looked happy, but he looked very focused as well. Christian never came to Jack's games. Only one or two here and there. But he still pressured Jack. Even if he didn't mean to. He always said things like "If you want to go to Columbia, you have to get your football skills up to the level of your grades." They already were, but Christian never let it go.

9 minutes were left in the 4th quarter, and Longwood was quickly moving down the field. Jack was nervous. Sayid was nervous. Danny, Paul, and Gavin were nervous. Sanders was nervous. Claire, Charlie, and Shannon were nervous.

Kate was nervous.

She could actually see Jack trembling on the field. Coach was putting a lot of pressure on him, but Kate assumed he worked well under pressure. _'Guess I was wrong.'_ Kate thought.

Sanders called their final time out, with 4 minutes left in the game. Kate couldn't hear what they were saying, but she saw all of the boys shaking their heads yes. Jack suddenly looked up to where Kate was. He looked pail and nervous. Kate just smiled a warm smile, and held up her index finger. Jack smiled in return, holding his up in response. The boys then put their hands together, chanting "One! Two! Three! Wildcats!! Wildcats!! WILDCATS!!!!"

The crowd went wild as the boys ran onto the field, getting in their positions. The clock quickly ticked down…3:59, 3:58. Kate grabbed Claire's hand, and held it tight. Longwood was at the 15 yard mark. They had the ball. The announcer's voice was trembling. The crowd was shaking.

One minute to go.

_Have you ever lived your life in slow motion? It could've been from excitement, from joy, from fear. But you feel as if time slows down. But you don't. You heart beats a mile an hour. Your breathing is shallow. And the world turns gray. Foggy. Everything around you stops. And you keep going. You can't speak. You can't move. All you can do is watch the situation unfold. Good or bad. You're not in control. But it's one of those feelings you get. And it feels different. Strange. Maybe even scary. But it's oh so satisfying._

The clock ticked down again. 59….58….57 seconds to go. Longwood had the ball. The quarterback caught it. He backed up. And as he brought his hand back to throw the ball to the receiver, standing in the goal, he was tackled. They rolled around, and the boy laid there, on the grass. And as he pounded his fist in frustration, the other boy went sprinting off in the other direction. And that boy was Jack.

"Oh."

"My."

"God."

Claire, Shannon, and Kate stood there open mouthed, starring at the situation slowly unfolding in front of them.

"INTERCEPTION BY JACK SHEPHERD, NUMBER FIVE!!!!"

The crowd went insane. Everyone was jumping up and down, screaming at the top of their lungs. Flag were waving in the air, food flying everywhere. Coach Sanders dropped his clipboard, and was now screaming at Jack to 'Keep running boy!!! Keep running!!" The boys on the bench were now on their feet, running along the side of the field, yelling and cheering at Jack. Sayid stood amongst the Longwood offense, cheering on Jack while slowly removing his helmet.

And then there was Jack. Running. His legs carrying him faster than his mind was letting him. He was on an adrenaline rush. All of those people in the crowd. Cheering for him. He had to do this. For Coach Sanders. For the team. For his dad. For Kate. For himself.

"FIFTY YARDS! SIXTY YARDS!!! SEVENTY YARDS!!!" the announcer screamed uncontrollably into the microphone.

Kate was no longer yelling. She was screaming.

"EIGHTY YARDS!!!" the announcer screamed.

The crowd stopped.

The announcer stopped.

The players stopped.

Sanders stopped.

"TOUCHDOWN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

The bleachers were about to collapse. The loudspeakers were about to break. Complete and total chaos.

"TOUCHDOWN!!! BLHS WINS!!! AND A RECORD SETTING EIGHTYFIVE YARD RUN BY JACK SHEPHERD!!!!!!"

Jack threw the football down onto the turf, and held his hands up in the air. He tore his helmet off as his teammates went running over to him. They all tackled him down to the ground, all laughing and smiling. Then they hoisted Jack up, until he was on top of the large huddle. When he was finally up, Jack pointed his index finger high in the air, looking over to where Kate was. They all started chanting.

"Jack! Jack! Jack! Jack!"

The crowd joined in, and security opened the gate to let some of the crowd onto the field. Kate didn't waste any time, running past Claire, Shannon, and Charlie and down the bleachers, pushing and shoving past everyone who was in her way. She spotted Jack and sprinted towards him. She was laughing so hard and smiling so broad. Jack saw her and smiled even wider, laughing at the guys and telling them to put him down.

As he was lowered down to the ground, Kate sprinted faster and jumped into his arms. She wrapped her legs around his waist and hugged him close, and he held her up, returning the hug. All of the football players cheered at the two of the hugging, and few catcalls could be heard far in the distance.

She wanted to stay there forever, but she realized that people were starring, so she let herself out of his arms and he lowered her down to the ground.

She smiled widely at him, and he laughed at her happiness.

"Congratulations hero." Kate smiled at Jack, and he laughed in response, pulling her back into another hug.

Claire was right: Homecoming _was_ the best event of the year.


	13. Chapter 13: Home

Thirteen

"Gooooood Morning BLHS!! Today is Monday, October 1st! And now for today's announcements!!!"

Jack and Kate sat in homeroom, talking about the weekend that they had spent together. Saturday had been Homecoming. After the game, Jack, Kate, Charlie, Claire, Sayid, Shannon, and a couple of other guys from the team went to the diner on main street for a victory dinner. The got home at around midnight, since they had spent most of the time in the dinner talking, instead of eating.

On Sunday, the gang went back to 'The Field.' They brought a frisbee and a soccer ball, food, blankets, and a radio, and spent the entire day there. They took over 100 pictures of each other and the beautiful view. While going through town to get there, Kate stopped in the pharmacy to get a disposable camera, since she didn't own a digital one like everyone else. Just like art, Kate loved photography. When she was little, her mom had an old fashioned camera that didn't work, so she gave it to Kate to play with. Kate would pretend that she was a professional photographer, and go out on the farm and take pictures of the animals or the long open fields. While at 'The Field', she had used up the whole roll of film, so on the way home, she dropped it back off at the pharmacy to be developed.

"Gooooood Morning BLHS!! Today is Monday, October 1st! And now for today's announcements!!!"

Jack looked up from Kate to the PA and smiled. It was certain that they were going to say something about Saturday's game.

Kate smiled at Jack. "You ready for your public recognition, champion?"

Jack looked at her and laughed, blushing and looking down at the ground. Kate smiled at him. He got so shy and embarrassed sometimes. It was adorable.

The PA blared loudly. "Well students, if you haven't heard about Saturday's mind blowing Homecoming game yet, you must live under a rock because it was a day to remember."

The whole homeroom cheered and clapped, and then became silent again to listen to the announcement.

"For a full review of the game, you can check to school's website or ANY of the school bulletin boards. But BLHS scorers included Sayid Jarrah, the sophomore rookie, Danny Marcus, the football team captain, and two, count em, TWO touchdowns by none other than Jack Shepherd. Not only did Jack score two touchdowns, he scored the wining touchdown in the last ten seconds of the game through an interception!!!"

The whole class looked at Jack and cheered for him, giving him pats on the back.

"Now that the wildcats have beat Longwood, they are a shoe in for the playoffs. And in the words of the football teams Coach, Mr. Sanders, "If they continue to play like Saturday, I see gold on the horizon."

The whole class jumped up cheering, and they started chanting.

"Jack, Jack, JACK, JACK!!!"

Kate laughed at Jack, who was blushing furiously.

"You gonna bring us the gold, Jack?"

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After school, Sayid and Jack went to football practice, while Claire, Charlie and Shannon walked home. Kate wanted to stay after and work on her art extra credit. It was already done, but she wanted to make sure it was perfect.

Kate was on her way towards the art room, when she passed one of the school bulletin boards.

'Jack.' Kate smiled to herself, and looked for the football game review. She saw it and began to read it.

'As them game entered the 4th quarter, BLHS and Longwood were tied. Longwood continued to move down the field, and in the last minute, an interception by sophomore Jack Shepherd allowed for the BLHS victory.'

Kate smiled to herself and giggled. She was so happy for Jack and all of the recognition he was getting. He was already popular, but she was still happy for him.

She began to walk away, when between all of the white bulletins, she spotted one pink one. It grabbed Kate's attention, so she backed up and began to read it.

'Attention all BLHS students!

Do you enjoy photography?

Taking Pictures?

Well, if you do, you can join our new contest!

For one week, you will be given a camera and one whole roll of film, with a total of 24 pictures. You may take pictures of anything you like, but please make it appropriate.

Then, submit your camera and film to Mrs. Leavy and whoever has the nicest photographs wins the contest!

PRIZE: $100, a professional digital camera, and the job as the new BLHS photographer!

Talk to Mrs. Leavy for more information.

The start date is this WEDNESDAY!'

Kate just starred at the paper, intrigued. She always loved photography, and she really wanted a digital camera. She just didn't think that she should be spending her money on something she didn't need. She smiled at the paper and then thought to herself.

'What the heck.'

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"Hello?"

"Hey Kate, it's Jack."

"Oh, hey Jack! What's up?"

It was 5:30pm on Friday, and Kate was sitting in her room starting her homework. She felt kind of nerdy doing homework on a Friday, but she hated procrastinating and doing it Sunday at 10:00 at night. She didn't even have that much, so she wanted to get it done before the weekend began.

"Um, nothin much, what about you?" Jack asked into the phone.

Kate laughed. "Ugh, I'm doing some homework…"

Jack laughed and smiled to himself, even though Kate couldn't see. He almost forgot why he was calling, and spoke into the phone again.

"Oh, um, the reason I called was to invite you to the beach tomorrow. It's gonna be me, Charlie, and Claire. And of course you if you wanna come." Jack almost stuttered into the phone.

Kate almost jumped out of her chair. She had never been to a beach. She had only seen them on tv, or in pictures. She didn't know what warm sand between your toes felt like, or the cool salt water rushing up to your knees.

"Wow. Seriously?" Kate asked.

Jack laughed. "Of course. No, I'm just kidding, okay, bye Kate."

They both laughed, and Jack spoke up, a little unsure.

"So…is that an…um…"

"Yes." Kate cut him off. "Yes, I would love to come."

They both laughed and continued to talk about school and how their days had went. They had such a healthy friendship. Jack saw something in Kate that he had never seen in anyone before. And it wasn't that she was a girl, it had to do with their friendship. He felt extremely comfortable with telling her things. He hadn't told her anything important yet, but he felt like he could tell her things that others would care about. The little things. And she listened. He could tell her what went on at football practice, and she would listen intently, and patiently. Not even Jack's guy friends could listen to him about football. But Kate could.

"Umm, alright…so…so you can come to my house tomorrow at 9am. And then my mom will drop us off. Okay?" Jack stuttered again.

"I can't wait." Kate smiled. "See you tomorrow."

"Okay, Bye Kate."

"Bye Jack."

Kate hung up the phone and jumped onto her bed. She faced the ceiling, a large smiled plastered over her face. She was going to a beach. And she was going with her best friends.

She was going with Jack.

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"Good morning Mrs. Shepherd." Charlie greeted Jack's mom as he walked into the house.

"Hello Charlie, Claire and Jack are in the kitchen, you can go ahead in." Margo smiled warmly.

Charlie walked into the kitchen to be greeted by Jack and Claire packing a cooler full of food. And Claire was wearing a bikini top.

Charlie thought he was going to pass out.

"Uhh…h….he….hey g-ggg-gguys!" Charlie stuttered.

Jack and Claire turned around and waved at Charlie, not noticing the dreamy look on his face.

"Hey Charlie!" They both chimed in together.

Charlie walked over to the counter where they were packing a large cooler full of food and drinks. Charlie looked around and noticed that Shannon, Sayid, and Kate were missing.

"Hey, where is everyone else?" Charlie asked.

Jack continued to pack the cooler while he spoke. "Shannon went away for the weekend to visit her cousins, and Sayid said he didn't want to go if Shannon wasn't going. And Kate should be here any minute."

Charlie laughed and mumbled under his breath. "You'd think she'd be the first one here considering she lives next door and it's Jack."

Jack rolled his eyes. "I heard that."

Claire giggled and the door bell rang.

Jack sprinted out of the kitchen, calling "I'll get it!"

Charlie looked at Claire. "Does he have a Kate detector or something?"

Jack opened the door to be greeted by Kate in a tank top and shorts.

She smiled and held up a box. "I brought cookies."

Jack laughed and stepped to the side to let her in. "I like cookies…."

Kate laughed. "Good, cause I'm not eating all of these."

They walked into the kitchen to be greeted by Charlie and Claire. They finished packing up the cooler, grabbed their towels and beach bags, and got into the car.

"So I'll pick you guys up at 7:30, okay?" Jack's mom called when they got to the beach.

"Yeah, see ya mom!" Jack called, walking towards the sand.

"Thank you Mrs. Shepherd!" Kate said sweetly, and followed Jack, Charlie, and Claire towards the beach.

Just before Kate stepped foot on the sand, she took her flip flops off, and took in a deep breath. She liked the smell of the beach. The salt water. Kate walked onto the sand and was captivated by its incredible warmth. She stood still and dug her feet in deeper into the sand, enjoying the feeling of the warm sand between her toes. The warm sun beat down on her face, and the cool ocean breeze blew through her curly hair. This was perfect.

All of the sudden, Kate heard Jack's voice.

"Hey. Are you okay?"

Kate looked up and smiled warmly at Jack.

"Yeah, this is amazing." Kate laughed. "Would you believe me if I told you I had never been to a beach before."

"Not for a minute!" Jack said, and they both laughed.

Jack looked at Kate. "So, you have never really been to a beach before?"

"Honestly, no. I haven't." Kate laughed. "And I love it already."

Jack smiled and took Kate's hand as he pulled her closer to the beach.

"Well, then, lets make this a day to remember."

They spent the entire day playing games, swimming, eating, and just talking. The weather was perfect outside. The sun was warm, but the cool breeze evened it out. Kate told them about the photography contest, and she took pictures of the beach. She even took pictures of Jack and Charlie tossing a football back and forth. They played chicken in the water, and Jack and Kate won in the first 10 seconds. Jack didn't complain about having Kate sit on his shoulders, and Charlie didn't complain about Claire on his.

Later on, Charlie and Claire started making out, so Jack and Kate went for a walk along the beach to give them some privacy. They walked along the shore line, so whenever the tide came in, it brushed past their feet. They walked in a comfortable silence for a few minutes, before Jack spoke.

"Can I ask you something?"

Kate continued to look straight ahead of her. "Sure, anything."

Jack looked down, and then over to Kate. "Do you like it here? In LA?"

Kate smiled to herself, and then answered, looking out to sea. "Honestly? It's different. But it's not a bad different." Kate stopped walking and was now starring out at the horizon. "There are some things that are totally different. Like the weather. And the vegetation. And the houses. But some things are exactly the same. When we got to the field, I….I felt as if I never left. And it reminds me, of what I miss most about Iowa. I miss being able to just sit and admire the view. And here, I have that."

Jack was looking at her admiringly. She never ceased to amaze him. She opened her mouth to speak again.

"But the people here. They beat the people I knew in Iowa." She smiled and looked at Jack. "The friends I had in Iowa, they weren't as friendly as they friends I have here. They would abandon me if I couldn't go out. And I never had a best friend there. My best friend was my mom. But then she abandoned me." Kate looked down with a sad look on her face. Jack came closer and wrapped his arms around her in a hug.

They pulled apart and Kate sniffed. "I'm sorry."

Jack came closer. "It's okay. It's okay to be sad."

Kate laughed and grabbed his hand in her own.

"But like I was saying. Now, I have friends that I can count on. Friends I can talk to. And I have a best friend." Kate smiled. "And his name is Jack."

Jack smiled, surprised. "And I have a new best friend."

"And her name is Kate."

Kate stepped closer and rested her head on Jack's chest, while he wrapped his arms around her. And they starred out into the horizon, while Kate thought to herself.

'This is my new home.'


	14. Chapter 14: Accusations

Fourteen

"Ugh, I might just kill Mr. Lee." Jack sighed as he walked home with Kate.

It was Monday, and the weekend was over. Saturday at the beach had been a blast for both Jack and Kate, and Sunday was a boring day for the both of them, without each other's company. They were starting to miss each other. Whether it was for a couple of days or a couple of hours. Even during the school day they missed each other.

"I know! I mean, what teacher assigns a 10 page paper, and makes it due Friday? Correct me if I'm wrong, but that's only 4 DAYS!" Kate turned towards Jack and held up two fingers.

"Tell me about it. And the worst part is, it's on African Independence movements. I mean, could it get more boring?" Jack threw his hands in the air hopelessly. "I mean, come on, at least make it on World War II or something, oh I don't know, interesting?"

Kate laughed and they continued their walk home. They decided to take the long way, so they could stop at the pizzeria, considering they spent their entire lunch period in the library reading up on their new history assignment. As they reached town, Kate spotted the pharmacy where she bought her disposable camera for the field.

"Oh my God. I totally forgot!" Kate exclaimed.

Jack turned towards Kate, confused. "What's up?"

Kate laughed, and started walking towards the pharmacy, Jack in tow. "Remember the camera I bought last week? I never picked up the pictures."

Jack laughed and ran a little to catch up to Kate's quickened pace. "Kate Austen? Forgot something? Call the Guinness Book….."

Kate turned while walking ahead of him and slapped him playfully on the chest. Jack did a mock 'Owww' and held his chest as if he was in pain. She rolled her eyes and turned around again, running into the pharmacy.

"Ooo! Ooo! What about this one?" Kate laughed, showing Jack the picture she was looking at of Charlie in the middle of his victory dance.

Jack laughed and held the picture in his hands. "Blackmail."

They both laughed and continued to look at the other pictures. They were now sitting inside the pizzeria, next to the window, watching the people pass back and forth through town while eating their pizza. They had picked up the pictures and were now looking at them.

Jack spotted a picture at the bottom of the pile and pulled it out. "What about this one?"

Kate took one end of the picture in her hand so she could see it and smiled.

Jack looked up at Kate with a shocked, yet incredibly happy expression on his face. "This….this is amazing, Kate. Since when have you been an amazing photographer along with the rest of your amazing abilities?" He joked, laughing.

Kate smiled slightly at the picture and then looked up at Jack. It was a picture of the field. In all of its glory. The picture looked down on the valley, onto the crystal clear river, out over the mountains, over the trees. It looked professional.

"I….I…kinda actually just signed up for that school contest." Kate said shyly to Jack. "Y'know. The photography one."

Jack smiled at Kate, and placed the picture down on the table, taking her hand in his. "Kate. There's nothing to be embarrassed about." He laughed. "I'm proud of you. And I always will be. Besides, this is a great opportunity."

Kate smiled. "Yeah, you could win a digital camera! And one hundred dollars! And then you get to be the school photographer!"

Jack laughed at her excitement. He loved how animated she got when she was excited about something.

"Yeah. It's the perfect opportunity for you, Kate. And the best part is, if you win, which you probably will…" Kate giggled at this, "…then you get to come to every single one of my football games."

Kate smiled and blushed.

"And nothing could possibly make me happier."

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"Okay, who would like to answer number 32?" Ms. Spencer asked the class.

Kate was sitting in math, next to Sayid. It was Thursday, and they were going to be revealing the winner for the photography contest between 10am and 11am, which was now. Every five minutes, Kate looked up at the PA system, hoping a voice would come from it. She kept fidgeting in her chair, which didn't go unnoticed by Sayid or the other upperclassmen.

"How about…….. Kate!" Ms. Spencer said cheerfully, pointing at Kate.

Kate was starring at the PA system, when she heard her name and jumped in her chair.

"What?!" Kate asked, confused.

Ms. Spencer gave Kate a warning look. "Number 32, please?"

The class 'oooo'ed, and Kate sank in her chair. The only thing worse than classmates who teased you were classmates who were seniors that teased you.

"65." Kate mumbled from her chair, embarrassed as the entire class starred at her.

"Correct! Now next time, lets not stare into space, and pay attention instead." Ms. Spencer rolled her eyes, and turned around, finishing the equation on the chalkboard.

Kate never got in trouble with teachers. Never. She was always the girl who sat in the back of the class and never said anything, and nobody knew her name. She wasn't used to this. She assumed it was because it was a senior course, and the teacher probably thought she was just a petite seventeen year old.

The class giggled at Kate, and she turned a dark shade of red, burying her head in her chest. All of the sudden, she heard a strong voice from directly behind her.

"Hey. Hey. Calm down people. This is the girl dating Jack Shepherd and still maintainin' a 4.0 GPA, so why don't y'all just mind your own business."

Kate's eyes practically popped out from her skull, as she turned around smoothly in her chair and faced the voice that was coming from behind her.

"Oh no….no-no-no-no. Jack's not my boyfriend." Kate was blushing a deep shade of red at this point, so it would be hard for someone to believe her. "No, he's my best friend. My neighbor. My buddy. We're buddies."

The boy behind her just rolled his eyes. "Whatever you say sweetcheeks….."

"Umm, excuse me! Katherine! James! That will be enough. Katherine, you've had enough trouble for a day, don't you think?" Ms. Spencer yelled at the pair.

"Yes Ma'am." Kate said softly and sank back into her chair.

"Yeah, whatever." James threw his hands in the air.

The sound of the bell brought the students out of their thoughts, and everyone stood up and filed out of the classroom. As Kate stood up, James brushed past her, flashing her a smile, as if saying 'Don't mention it'. Kate smiled back, but when he was gone, she just rolled her eyes. She knew he was trying to hit on her, and she hated it.

'Why can't every guy on the planet just be like Jack?" Kate thought to herself.

Sayid finished packing his books up and stood from his desk. "So, are you ready for lunch?"

Kate smiled and they walked out of the classroom together. "Not today, Sayid. My history paper is due tomorrow, and I'm going to the library with Jack."

"Again?" Sayid asked. "You two have been going to the library everyday this week."

Kate sighed. "I know. No need to remind me. Mr. Lee thought it would be cool to assign a ten page paper and make it due Friday."

Sayid grimaced and they continued walking towards the cafeteria. "Well, I'll see you later than, okay? I'm gonna go meet Jack at his locker."

Sayid laughed and spoke. "I can't blame James for thinking what he thought."

"Kate turned around, unaware of what Sayid had just said. "What?"

"Oh, nothing….have a nice….lunch!" Sayid called, and ran towards the café.

Kate stood in the middle of the hallway, a confused look plastered on her face.

'Whatever.' She thought and turned around, walking to Jack's locker.

"Gandhi." Jack said as he pulled out a book from the bookshelf.

Kate rolled her eyes, and took the book from his hands, placing it back onto the shelf. "India. Not Africa. I thought you were good in history."

Jack laughed softly. "Yeah. I am. Just not right now."

Kate rolled her eyes as they continued walking up and down the aisles of bookshelves. Ever since Saturday at the beach, they had been acting differently towards each other. More genuine. More sincere. They were truly acting like best friends. Therefore, making assumptions like James' more likely.

All of the sudden, a blaring sound roared through the library, as everyone looked towards the PA.

"Attention students! The results are in for the first annual photography contest! After a day of reviewing the pictures with a panel of experienced judges, we have picked out a first, second, and third place winner!"

Kate squealed and grabbed onto Jack's arm. She was lightly jumping up and down, starring brightly at the PA, as Jack smiled to himself, looking down at the ground.

"In third place, with a $25 gift card to Best Buy, we have Jason Carter!"

Silence took over the library, and shuffling papers could be heard over the PA.

"In second place, with a $50 gift card to Best Buy, we have………..Megan Hanson!"

Clapping and cheering could be heard out in the hallway, and soft laughter could be heard in the library from the excitement in the hall.

"And in first place, and the winner of the $100, the new digital camera, and the new BLHS photographer, is……..Kate Austen!"

"Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!" Kate screamed so loud, Jack was afraid the bookshelves were going to cave in on them. Kate grabbed onto his arms and started shaking him, while jumping up and down uncontrollably.

"Kate….Kate….Kate!" Jack laughed, whispering softly. "We're in a library…Kate!"

"Oh my God! I won!!!! Oh my God!!! I'm gonna faint." Kate was still yelling, causing annoyed glances from the other students.

"SHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" The librarian put her finger up to her mouth and glared at Jack and Kate. "BE QUIET! THIS IS A LIBRARY!" the librarian said in a hushed, but forceful voice.

Kate immediately stopped and turned to the librarian, wide eyed like a deer in headlights.

"Sorry!" Kate mouthed to the elderly lady, and stiffly turned back to Jack with an embarrassed look on her face.

Jack just laughed at her, and she broke out into a happy smile, whispering.

"Oh my God. I just won."

Jack was so happy for Kate. He knew how much she wanted to win the digital camera, and he knew how strong her love for photography was. And it was good for him, because now, she got to come to all of the football games with the team. He was extremely happy.

----------------------------------

"Yeah, I'll be home at six for dinner."

"Alright, be careful. I'll see you later Katie."

"Bye Daddy."

Kate hung up the pay phone on Main Street and started walking along the back roads. Her book bag slung over her shoulder, Kate made her way along the dirt roads, her new digital camera hanging around her neck. It was starting to get a little bit cooler out, so Kate was wearing her denim jeans and a faded green jacket. Kate liked her style of clothing. It was different and comfortable. It wasn't raggy or dirty, and it wasn't tight and revealing. It was very simple, yet nobody dressed like her. She never used a straightener, and she couldn't remember the last time other than the dance that she had worn a dress. She admitted that she was a tomboy, but she had a very feminine side too.

Kate dropped her backpack off her shoulder and tossed it over the metal fence. She climbed up and jumped over onto the other side. She had decided not to tell anyone where she was going. Jack and Sayid had gone to football practice, and everyone else had gone home. She told them that she was staying for extra help, and not to wait up. But the truth was, she wanted to be alone for a little bit. Some peace and quiet to enjoy herself, and just herself. Sure, she loved her friends to death, but she needed just an hour to let everything that had been going on during the past month sink in.

As Kate headed up the steep, tall grass hill, she looked around her. She loved this. This place.

Kate reached the top of the hill and was met by the glorious view that never ceased to amaze her. If there was one thing about Iowa that Kate wanted to remember, it was the outdoors. The views. The scenery. The little bubble that she lived in. It was spectacular. She could sit in the middle of a grass field for hours, admiring her surroundings without getting bored. It was what she would do whenever he was over. When she needed to get away. When she couldn't bear to hear her mother's screams for another minute. She would run. Run out into the large open field in her backyard. Past the farm, and the animals. And she wouldn't cry. Big girls didn't cry. She would just admire the view. The spectacular view that was her home.


End file.
